Gorgeous Dark Dahlias

Veryzer · 2024-05-25T22:27:58+00:00

I swear the universe doesn't want me to grow HH Black Beauty. Two years ago it was just poor stock and only emerged as a spindly shoot that never did anythin...

Veryzer

Black Widow would be another similar one, right? I'm still hopeful that it works out this time. I like the waterlily-type form more than the sc.

Laia

Veryzer My first blooms of Hollyhill Black Widow last year were so purple & stripey, that I thought it was a mislabel at first. A bunch of other growers assured me that theirs tend to do the same thing in dry heat weather, and many were seeing the same last year. Mine also might just have sported, since Ted said it has a tendency to do that. I’ve ordered one from another source for this year, to compare. I’d enjoy having both the purple & the original color versions.

I loved both my HH Black Beauty & HH Black Widow, though my HH Black Beauty’s blooms were larger for me (and significantly less purple & not stripey). I feel like my HH Black Beauty blooms had petals that were a bit wider, going to a twisty narrow pointed end, in contrast to the blooms on my HH Black Widow which the petals were on the skinny side throughout, without much of a taper, more of a rounded end. I didn’t notice pronounced cupping on my HH Black Widow blooms, like some waterlilies do, even when cut and brought inside to low light. Still was a favorite. The color was stunning, even though it was unexpected.

Here are some pictures of my purple HH Black Widow last year. The last picture is next to Irish Ruffles.

Teddahlia

We do not grow much of HH Black Widow as we do not use it for breeding. It has at best a mixed pedigree and the immediate seed parents were Mr. and Mrs. Unknown. We had a few waterlilies back then my best guess was Red Velvet from Australia. The other parent would be a real guess. We grew about 1200 seedlings that year and the only one that lost it's tag was Black Widow. By the way, it sports to a maroon red(close to purple. Many people only have the "purple" version.

Krista

Laia Those deeply hued stripeys are very fun! I’m curious to see comparison photos this year with the new stock you’re bringing in.

dahlia1972

Laia Gorgeous!! I like that even more than the original! Are there any varieties similar to that?

Laia

dahlia1972 This was a pretty unique look as far as the dahlias I’ve encountered.

I had a Speckled Chee that sported mostly solid, and it was also a really rich dark velvety color with some stripes here and there, but not so purple, more red toned.

Debora Renae did the stripeys but in dark velvet red & crimson red.

Ryan C was my other that had such a dark velvety purple, but that’s a bicolor with white tips, and it didn’t get the stripes.

Sandia Bertha, Jennifer’s Wedding, Allen’s High Voltage, Berner Oberland, Le Baron, Purple Carnival, Diva, and Glenplace were the other purples I grew. Jennifer’s Wedding did get a nice range of deeper velvety purple on the center of the petals, and brighter purple on the edges of the petals.

Here’s Jennifer’s Wedding:

Sandia Bertha (I highly recommend this one if you like the looks; easy grower & good tubers):

I got open centered blooms from my Allen’s High Voltage, so will be trying new stock this year:

Purple Carnival had white stripes with varying shades of purple. Must warn you that they were small blooms & for some reason my plant had the floppiest stems ever.

Le Baron did give a two-tone purple effect, but not the super deep dark purple like the HH Black Widow. It was very useful in bouquets.

And since I got started listing my purples, here’s Berner Oberland which is only barely tangentially related to the conversation on hand, but I loved it, so any chance to show it off:

JessieC

Laia Sandia Bertha looks lovely! I’d like to try it next year. It’s fun to read your review of this color group. I hope others will add theirs too.
This year, my darks are Jessie G (tried and true,) Big Bend Tony, which I bought from Crazy4Dahlias. He recommends it. I’ve also got Glenplace and Coseytown Lois Lane. I’ll report back with their progress. Jessie G survived in the ground over the winter (VA 7B,) and has fat buds about to open already!
As for dark dahlias that didn’t make the cut this year: Mystique was pretty, but a lousy cut flower with floppy stems. Good sturdy tubers, which I gave away. Bloomquist Awesome was a disappointing plant. The flowers were wonky, so I wasn’t too bothered that the tubers were poor.

Juliarugula

Manor Jayne became striped when it got really cool in the fall (solid the rest of the season).

JessieC

Juliarugula That’s a beauty!!

calico20hill

JessieC I bought Big Bend Tony from Crazy4 also, but mine is sure slow to wake up. It has been showing signs of life, but just not progressing much. I hope it will take off now that it is in the ground...

Bessie

JessieC I love to hear the feedback regarding floppy stems and wonky flowers. I'm always looking for great cut flowers to hybridize with, and those flowers to stay away from.

JessieC

calico20hill Mine are slow too! I received them early and potted them up. They’ve been in the ground for about five weeks, I’d say. They look fine, but they are not the most enthusiastic plants in my 2024 lineup.
And I forgot to mention Ivanetti, which I am trying again this year. I know it’s common and I believe easy to grow, but I had bad luck with it last year and tried again with a pair of tubers this year. Last night I noticed that one of them suffered sudden death, so I dug it up and popped a cutting into its place. It’s so nice to have cuttings to spare—the understudies of the dahlia garden! 😂

Teddahlia

Big Bend Tony cuttings not very vigorous here. Perhaps I need better stock. We have no shortage of purple and dark red here as we have many seedlings with those colors.

I still remember a dahlia "site" on the computer from the very beginning when you used your telephone modem to connect with groups of people. A poll was taken as to your favorite dahlia color . Purple won and and has won many polls since then.
Margaret was an avid participant on a site called " RAIN" that was just emails and some had small files attached. Pictures looked good only at postage stamp size.

Juliarugula

Teddahlia A poll was taken as to your favorite dahlia color . Purple won and and has won many polls since then.

I’m very curious about the favorite colors of members of this site. I have this weird theory that purple is a favorite color among men, but women tend to like other colors. I think this theory is probably based on my dad and my husband’s favorite flower colors (yes, purple).

My favorite flower color is orange.

Bessie

Juliarugula I have lots of favorite colors, and I have a hard time making decisions. So I took some quick shots of color in my yard and kitchen (dahlias undergoing vase tests).
Alstroemeria colors I like

Current Dahlia colors I like

calico20hill

I guess I think more in terms of "mood" then particular color. I like a turbulent purple with a silver backing like a thunderstorm. An intense red with orange tones shouts out "Fire!" Soft pale pinks make me think of babies cheeks . Brighter pinks are valentines. I have a friend who "hears" colors as musical tones and was amazed when she showed me information about how that was a real thing, not just her crazy notion. Color charts do help when sharing informtion on coloring but the gut response to colors is a wild and crazy thing!

blown_dry

Bessie These are the best colors. It's SCIENCE.

Teddahlia

Purple with darker purple is a nice color.

BackyardBouquets_17

I’m a lover of light pastel colors! The dahlias I find myself falling for are in the peach/orange class. The lighter in color they are the better. Blush colored would be another category and all the better if they fade out into a light or white color giving it a two toned affect.

My customers tend to like bright showy bouquets and those r the ones I find difficult to make since it’s not really “my style”. Usually the one I think is the absolute ugliest will be the first to sell 😂

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