2025 - Dahlia Blooms

SteveM · 2025-05-09T21:01:41+00:00

First bloom from a vendor tuber this year - just in time for Mother's Day. A not-quite-fully-open Hollyhill Amethyst grown in a one-gallon nursery containe...

Teddahlia

The late Phil Mingus used Kidd's Climax for a lot of his breeding and introduced many , many varieties from it. He used isolation breeding and grew it at relative's house along with what he wanted to cross with it. It was a big secret when he did this. The late Mike Iler went even further with isolation beds and grew more similar varieties that made seeds or did not make seeds as they made pollen. The Boleys have been using isolation beds for many years. The simplest "isolation bed" is planting one variety next to the one to cross with it. Narrows Tricia is a big time show flower that was produced by planting two varieties next to each other.

Note: Kidd's Climax was bred in the 1930s and introduced in 1940. It is one of the few old time dahlias that is worth growing in modern times.

Teddahlia

Hollyhill Minuet is a "plant it and forget it" dahlia that grows on it's own to produce pretty flowers with little or no work by the grower. You can dis bud it if you want to but it does fine without any grooming. It over wintered in a 15 gallon pot and sprouted in the old soil in the Spring. No fertilizer and just mostly rain water and and it bloomed well. I felt sorry for it and finally gave it some fertilizer as the leaves were getting yellow.

calico20hill

[unknown] Rothesey Rose is beautiful!

Justafewdahlias

Re: “weed dahlias” a few of my reject seedlings from last year a family member wanted to keep. They planted the reject seedlings in their yard last summer. From May-August this year they were out of town. Here in the PNW there is very little rain during the summer. They had no sprinkler or irrigation set up while they were away. They returned from their trip and the reject seedling dahlia looked like this. They claim their neighbors don’t have any sprinkler or irrigation that could have reached it.

BackyardBouquets_17

Virus resistance has been something I’ve been researching in my limited free time. To my brain it makes better sense to breed with that goal in mind vs sanitizing and keeping everything perfectly clean. If a person is growing cut flowers especially it’s pretty near impossible to keep from spreading it at some point.
Therefore I’d be interested in hearing what peoples most virus resistant dah i as are.

SteveM

BackyardBouquets_17 Therefore I’d be interested in hearing what peoples most virus resistant dah i as are.

I think any variety that you have been growing for several years without it showing any visible signs of virus must have either a resistance or tolerance to the most symptomatic strains of viruses. It seems almost impossible for a dahlia grown in a mixed-sourced plot of dahlias (especially if surrounded bv host weeds) could remain virus-free for many years. Probably most dahlias grown for years by the original breeder have some resistance or tolerance. A breeder would likely recognize a decline in the stock sooner than a casual grower who likely grows just a few plants of any variety.
If I remember correctly (don't quote me), to manage virus in dahlias Dr. Pappu recommends breeding for resistance and Dr. Hammett recommends breeding for tolerance. Neither expert recommends the "eliminate virus" solution for long-term virus management (other than culling any plant that appears to be virused).

SteveM

@Justafewdahlias "#p17710 Re: “weed dahlias”

I have a friend from Mexico who says gardeners in his home town consider dahlias to be weeds since various species are growing everywhere.

Bessie

I rarely make flower arrangements for my home, but when company is coming for dinner... I spruce up the place. I grabbed the Dahlia flowers I'm not currently using for hybridizing, and I'm amazed how pretty they are in an arrangement. Hollyhill Ambiance (cactus) and Hollyhill Razzberry(speckled).

SteveM

Bessie If you get a chance would you report on the vase life of HH Ambiance. I only vase-tested one bloom of HH Ambiance and it had exceptional vase life. I thought it might make a good seed parent for anyone wanting to develop a line of cactus cut dahlias.

Teddahlia

In the big scheme of things, dahlias are at their best as cut flowers and displayed where we can see them all day long. I pick a bouquet for the kitchen table and they are generally seedling flowers and they stay there for a couple of days and are replaced. Special events and we add other things to enhance the bouquet. Somehow, your bouquet looks quite familiar and HH Razz Berry and Ambiance go together well. If Razz Berry were not so tall(7 feet) it would be a better cut flower. Nice arrangement and you got to use your crystal vase.

Bessie

SteveM I'll see how long these two in the bouquet last. It's been really warm the past few days, and I didn't necessarily pick them at an ideal time of day. The ones I put into another arrangement a few weeks ago looked good for at least 5 days. The back petals tend to wither, but the center continues to look great. When I can get a few more blooms I'll do a more controlled test of vase life.
What would be the ideal characteristics you'd look for in a "cactus cut dahlia"?

SteveM

Bessie What would be the ideal characteristics you'd look for in a "cactus cut dahlia"

When the back petals of a FD or ball cut dahlia begin to wilt it is not so obvious but when the back petals of a SC or cactus begin to wilt it is very obvious. So, even though the "actual" vase life of a cactus variety might be the same as a FD variety, the "perceived" vase life is longer on the FD variety. So, I would looks for a cactus seedling that holds its form longer. Alternatively, a cactus seedling that can be cut when immature and will continue to fully open.
I have had good luck selling Hollyhill Black Magic at the market and, even though she is not a straight cactus, she might make an interesting cross with HH Ambiance.

Teddahlia

Dr. Hammett recommends breeding for tolerance. That would be lot's easier to do than resistance.

Teddahlia

Breeding flowers to look good at half ripe should be a goal for cut flower breeders. Green centers look bad in half ripe flowers for example. Some colors are not good looking at the half ripe stage.

SteveM

Bessie Teddahlia Aplen Pauline ?

I think you are probably right. My father named Alpen Pauline after the daughter of Paul Hovey, the grower in Kalispell who first got my father interested in dahlias.

SteveM

Just Lucas: My photo is not the best representation, the color is more even and more subdued. Grown in a container, plant has long, strong stems and the 3-4" blooms have excellent vase life. Will likely make a good commercial cut and I have seen a few blooms that would do well in shows. Great, clean stock from Brambleside Farm ( https://bramblesidefarm.com/ )

Teddahlia

The variegated bloom was shown at the Olympia show many years ago. It was labeled Alpen Bob.

SteveM

Teddahlia I've never seen Alpen Bob but that is possible.

calico20hill

Juliarugula, Your Blue Mountain is a different shade then any I have grown out. I wonder if it is a chemical reaction to a different soil? And of course a different climate...that is interesting to know. THank you for sharing that info with me... it also seems a little less regular in form then the ones I have grown. I wonder if I sent you a tuber that was from a seedling, rather then the main plant. Also wondering about the color difference...is your soil more acid or alkaline? I planted quite a number of seedlings from it this year...I should g through the garden and photograph all the little relatives of it....

Juliarugula

calico20hill you sent me a tuber that was labelled as Salish Hiro’s Welcome, and another that was labelled as Salish Hiro’s Welcome #3 (which hasn’t bloomed yet - I assume the #3 indicates it’s a seedling).

This bloom was from the unnumbered tuber I believe (I’ll double check tomorrow), so just Salish Hiro’s Welcome. It was the first bloom on the plant, so that could always be part of it. Our soil leans alkaline - doesn’t that mean pink in hydrangeas? Maybe it’s having a similar effect on this dahlia plant? I was surprised it was as pink as it was! I’ll make sure to take photos of the next blooms for you!

blown_dry

Juliarugula Thanks for sharing, Julia. 🙂

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