My first 2 (non-seedling) blooms of the season are Hollyhill Calico and Skipley Road Sherry. I was pleased with the color variation on Hollyhill Calico - I’ve heard a lot of stock has lost the white petals. This one is nice and colorful!
General Dahlia Chat 2024
If you are a breeder, HH Calico is a seedling of the Boley's Ms. Kennedy that is in turn a seedling of Ginger Wllo, the pom. I was always afraid of using Ms. Kennedy for breeding as it has the bad shattering problem. I got Calico back last year but the stock is weak and we need another try.
Teddahlia I got Calico back last year but the stock is weak and we need another try.
I’ll be happy to send you some next year if all goes well with my plants. The one that bloomed was my early started tuber-grown plant, and I have to say it seems weak so far. However, the cutting grown plants (from the same stock) look much better, so I haven’t really figured out what’s going on yet…
So I’m not very familiar with root rot but after a google search 
am suspicious that’s wat I have been dealing with in my cuttings I bought .leaves r wilted, roots brown and the stem turns to mush. Anything to do for it or once they have it you may as well throw em out?
Of course it’s my KA ones I spent $ on and wanted for breeding ( one came obviously with problems and another just started 3 days later) I’ve never had an issue with cuttings before so don’t know if it’s just a problem associated with this supplier or if I’ve just been lucky up until now. No reply to emails asking em questions so maybe someone here can help me out .
BackyardBouquets_17 from my experience, this condition may be exacerbated by overwatering and/or under lighting. The color of the leaves indicate a severe nitrogen/nutrient deficiency. As a mitigation, when I see the first sign of what looks like root rot, I take a cutting from the plant if possible, and avoid the necrotic area. I then try to get it to root in water. I've found it helpful if the rooting liquid is a weak (25% of recommended) solution of liquid fertilizer that has had a very tiny bit of rooting hormone added.
Although this is a sad situation couped by the high investment cost, when meet with similar scenarios I've rationalized with myself that the genetics of that variety may be best left out of my breeding program.
KitCMC That stinks. I feel about bunnies the way Ted feels about goats, only moreso. They're an absolute pestilence in my neighborhood and are willing to chew through the thorniest rose canes with no regard to liquid fence applications. Naturally, dahlia sprouts stand no chance. I finally resigned myself to dealing with chicken wire since I don't have the heart or resolve to go full Carl Spackler on them.
Veryzer
I know a person who liberally sprinkles red pepper on their plants ( in the morning when there is dew on so it sticks) i would have to ask how often it was done but after that the bunnies let her plants alone. Depending on the size of your patch it might take a lot of that tho!
Rabbits here eat things like clover and weeds. They do not eat dahlias. Before I knew this, I saw a rabbit running away from me and I had a hoe in my hand. In disgust, I threw the hoe 20 plus feet at the rabbit and killed it. Do not get in my way when I have a hoe in my hands. Talk about a lucky throw!
Teddahlia In disgust, I threw the hoe 20 plus feet at the rabbit and killed it.
That’s crazy! 
I used to have my kids shoot them with nerf bullets to scare them off (they do eat hostas!). It didn’t really work, but the kids had fun.
BackyardBouquets_17 Interesting. I've a small backyard garden, so that would be manageable. Whenever you see your neighbor, I'd like to know how often it's applied.
Bessie It is so sad to see your cutting that you paid a lot for go down this way. I rather agree with you about the genetics if you have successfully rooted many other varieties. I have had some luck with un-rooted cuttings received, but also had some that acted like yours is doing. Less and less do I want to work with these "hard to root" varieties nor do I want to add their genetics to my seedlings.
calico20hill
I didn’t think of it from the perspective of maybe it being better off not having its genetics in the line so that is a valid point to consider. I have successfully rooted many cuttings in vermiculite ( what I’ve found to work for me) so I did try a cutting from the good part but if it don’t work there’s no use crying over spilled milk and I’ll just get over the disappointment and look forward to the beautiful blooms to come from the ones I do have
Veryzer Critter deterrent....
Hot pepper spray
Simmer 1 gal. water & 3T.hot pepper flakes. Heating infuses oil making it hotter) let set overnight, strain thru cheesecloth, add several drops dish soap or olive oil. Spray on foliage, repeating every 5-7 days or after rain.
This is what she send me. She did say she’s already just shook the hot pepper ( powder) onto it as well. So choose your method and hopefully the bunnies decide your stuff isn’t as delicious to munch on as they first thought.
I just found the Swan Island order I placed on 8/1/22. Two of the three tubers are still firm and healthy, and all are sprouting and rooting in the plastic bag they came in. And have been for over a year! I went ahead planted them out today — what fun!
(Don’t worry — they only sat on the concrete for long enough to snap this photo)
Krista wow! What varieties are they? That’s wild!
Juliarugula Ones I wouldn’t have chosen this year 
Apple Blossom, Bumble Rumble, and Koko Puff.
BackyardBouquets_17 Thanks so much for following up. I'll give this recipe a try!
I finally finished planting! And Catalina’s tubers looked like little angels when I opened her box today:
My tubers look like shriveled prunes compared to these. I planted some prunes today and I bet they do well as they had little prune eyes. My Catalina looked a bit like yours and I do like it and miss the breeder Mike Iler.
BackyardBouquets_17 Ugh, I am sorry. All cuttings that get shipped are in conditions ideal for root rot, no light, possibly too warm, no drainage or air circulation. It may be bad luck, but I am sorry. I had a cutting order this year where they arrived yellowed. This is generally recoverable, but in this case 3 out of 4 succumbed to root rot and the last one is more of a spector than a survivor. Cuttings shipped in paper rather than plastic don't seem to have the "over humid" issue. I think it might be a better method. Hard to tell with such a small sample.