SteveM Camano Cloud A January bloom from a container grown plant. This is probably my favorite color of dahlia and I haven't seen the exact color in any other variety. The form is not classic SC show form but the bloom has good vase life (for a SC) and the plant is very prolific. Because of her terrible-tuber-keeper reputation, I maintain a few Camano Cloud container plants growing and never let them go dormant. This bloom is from a plant that is several years old.
PetitePatioCo First bloom of 2026 - yes, it was overwintered from a cutting under grow lights in my California garage, but it counts. Variety is Lee’s Sweet Tooth.
bloomhjelm Just sharing some red blooms while I still chip away at dahlia storage tasks. Barbarry Freestyle, Sidehill Bear, and one other I didn't caption so is lost in the mists of (four months of) time.
Juliarugula First (non-seeding) dahlia blooms of the year: Ryecroft BlackBerry. I started this one in a pot over the winter pretty early (maybe early March?) because I was afraid I might lose the tubers. Thus the early blooms.
Teddahlia Wonderful pictures. Petite Patio picture is just right as far as focus. I like it when the center is in focus and the depth of focus allows the resto of the bloom to look good too. Pet peeve: I do not like pictures of immature flowers and Barbarry Freestyle and L. Bear are immature . The last one seems to have a green center. I should talk as nothing is in bloom here. The colors in all the pictures are vibrant. In the days of film cameras that would have been difficult. Ryecroft flower does not look like any Blackberry I have ever seen. I would call the color flame. Phil Godsmark in the U.K. is the breeder of Ryecroft dahlias and he does introduce some very nice show flowers.
Juliarugula Teddahlia in my experience, Ryecroft BlackBerry darkens up later in the season. I tend to kind of like it when it’s in its “blotchy” phase though. Here’s a photo from last year.
Teddahlia Interesting that it gets darker as the season progresses. That is the opposite of some varieties that get lighter as the season goes into August-September when days are shorter. The red on on the leaves/stems of "black " foliage dahlias is influenced by light as more light makes them darker and even nearly black with some varieties. The pigment in the leave/stalks can be the same pigment that is in flower petals that need sunlight to form. Other red pigments do not need sunlight to become red.
Bessie Blooming for the first time ... AC Crackers This Hollyhill Daydream is much darker colored than some of the other plants of it I have. All from one original plant.
Bessie Teddahlia I need to go find where it's growing in my garden and give it extra fertilizer! Teddahlia , Does the color shift much over the seasons?
Teddahlia Does the color shift much over the seasons? Not as much as many. The ADS lists it as purple but we call it lavender.
Teddahlia We grew Creamy in the late 1990s. The late Phil Traff bred it. He also bred Pocrates, the best formed miniature ball in white that I have ever seen. However, if you are a show person and want to show Pocrates it should be known that even the very, very best exhibitors say that they are unable to consistently grow it for show. One multiple best in show grower said every 3-4 years he will get show winning blooms. Now I am sure you will say what is wrong with it in the off years? I did not ask that question but was sure I did not have the skill to personally grow it for show. Link to picture: https://www.flickr.com/photos/201432881@N06/53993575380/in/photolist-2qgc1Qv-2qgebRs-2qgebRx-8ooF6m/
Teddahlia I uploaded a picture of seedling 2363 to Flickr. When you use this link, you can see the picture. If you click on the picture it is magnified. https://www.flickr.com/photos/hollyhilldahlias/55374513091/in/dateposted-public/
Bessie Teddahlia I like the flower and the name, Hollyhill Chantilly. Is it an informal decorative or a waterlily?
Teddahlia Is it an informal decorative or a waterlily? We will see as the season progresses. It is probably more an issue of whether it is a show waterlily or just a waterlily.
Teddahlia HH Chantilly, same flower as previous pictures. It is hard to capture the actual depth of bloom in a straight on picture.
Bessie Teddahlia when I gather data on my seedlings I include a depth measurement. The great majority of the flowers this year are right around 1" depth. There's a lot of waterlily genes floating around. Because I started out in 2022 with several waterlily plants, the seedlings have carried those genes forward. This year one of my goals is to improve vase life, and those waterlily genetics unfortunately default to around 4 days vase life.
