White Dahlias

SteveM · 2023-03-15T03:53:54+00:00

Currently I'm using "Blizzard" as my small "pure white" commercial cut variety. Has anyone compared Blizzard to either "Skipley Swan Song" or "Coseytown Earl...

Honnat

SteveM Curious how anyone's 2023 evaluation of cut whites went. I trialed 20th Ave and Baker Rd. but only had 2 plants so couldn't get a good feel for it. I'm doing cuttings now so trying to decide my balance between it and Blizzard for 2024. Any other exceptional (pure) white cuts?

I gave 20th Ave & Baker Road a good test this year with about 20 plants. Total fail for me. Stock may have gone bad. Really short plants and mostly open centers. I can't say enough good things about Formby Alpine. It is good in every way. Only complaint is that it tends to get a bit spindly and weak late in the season (as in late September and early October). I am certain it was my highest grossing variety in 2023.
September 1

October 1

SteveM

Cosey Have you tried Ryecroft Jan?

Thanks, I'll add it to my list.

Honnat I gave 20th Ave & Baker Road a good test this year with about 20 plants. Total fail for me. Stock may have gone bad. Really short plants and mostly open centers. I can't say enough good things about Formby Alpine.

Thanks, good feedback. I'll add Formby Alpine to my list.

It looks like it will be another Blizzard year for my main small white. There's not much wrong with Blizzard but I am getting tired of looking at it.

MissyWeitzel

Bride-to-Be has been very productive for me every year for the 3 years I've grown it. It has shorter stems though. I tried 20 Ryecroft Jan and thought it was fantastic. The plant itself isn't necessarily beautiful - the leaves remind me of lettuce. Brookside Snowball and Blizzard are the other white dahlias I've had for years but neither in any year compared to Ryecroft Jan for me in this first year. I think Ryecroft Jan's blooms are way more beautiful too.

I think I'll kick Blizzard and Brookside Snowball to the curb and try to get some Formby Alpine next season. Or Coseytown's new one.

I know we aren't necessarily talking about pompons, but Bowen was new for me this year and it was super productive and beautiful. It got a blush in hot weather, which my florists liked, but if you're counting on white all season it may not be the best choice.

Juliarugula

I didn’t get a photo, but Ferncliff Pearl was my favorite new white this year. Nice size, long stems, strong centers, very floriferous. It would very occasionally get the slightest blush but was a pretty pure white most of the year.

I tried Ferncliff Crevasse and Snowstorm also, but Pearl was my favorite.

Flowernut

I'm still very impressed with Beaucon White. I always liked Gitts Attention (I haven't had in my garden for a while). I have had Andrea Lawson for the past few years and like her, too. I'm adding Ferncliff Pearl this year due to a recommendation.

MissyWeitzel

Ferncliff Pearl is fantastic. The plant reminds me of Snoho Doris - tall with strong stems and it doesn't sprawl all over into the walkway or crowd neighbors. I nearly lost my stock but I'm hoping to build it back up again with cuttings this winter.

Teddahlia

Ferncliff has been breeding dahlias and introducing flowers at least since about 1990. They are a Canadian company and used to have an address in the USA and you could buy tubers as though they were grown there but actually they were grown in Canada. They had a dahlia breeding relationship for several years with the professional plant breeder Wayne Holland. We learned most of what we know about breeding dahlias from Wayne Holland. He retired from breeding his "Hy" dahlias several years ago and moved to a harsher climate to the East in Canada.. Meanwhile, Ferncliff has been breeding and introducing many very nice varieties that deserve to be grown.

Honnat

SteveM There's not much wrong with Blizzard but I am getting tired of looking at it.

I hear that! It's a very functional white. But, gor me, it lacks the "class" a good white needs. It looks a bit chunky and often has holes in the center that are distracting.

Teddahlia

Hollyhill Wedding Day is white but is not a cut flower production flower as it is too big. It grows nice and tall and I was unable to cut through the stalk today on one of the plants because of it's woody stalk. I cut it higher where the stalk was green and it is waiting to be dug and has a 15 inch stalk sticking up and I will need to get some loppers to shorten it.

calico20hill

Teddahlia Time to bring out the chain saw that you reserve for HH Dahias woody stems!
I forgot that I was going to watch my husband cut down HH Wedding Day...I think I missed out on that, LOL...

Teddahlia

It goes without question that we are saving lots of seeds from HH Wedding Day and it is a slightly below average seed maker meaning that probably 60% of the pods have no seeds and of the 40% some only a few seeds but a few have 15 or more nice full black seeds. Form is an issue with Wedding Day as it is a mishmash of forms including stellar and informal decorative. The pessimist says that the mixed form is a big issue and the seedlings will probably be crap. The optimist says , I like crap when they grow 7 feet tall and have have wooden stalks.

dahlia1972

I'm trying Hollyhill Miss White next year. Hoping it's like Pollyanna, which wasn't the tallest, but definitely the biggest and most prolific dahlia bush I've ever seen besides my AC Twisp, which had been taken out by a storm at this point. Sadly Pollyanna was soon to follow. It was at least 5
feet across and covered with blooms. I could cut 10+ blooms on any given day. It was incredible. My second Pollyanna that was in part shade didn't do nearly as well. My thin hollow steel stakes were no match for it (or any of my plants).

calico20hill

Try rebar. You paint it to what ever color you want. We use a soft gray so it doesn't call attention to itsel,f but doesn't rust.

Teddahlia

I should not post this picture as I could only guess the names of the flowers. HH Lilibet is the one on the upper right.

SteveM

Teddahlia Are those all seedlings? I have always liked the form that the bottom right bloom displays. Maybe not a show flower (which is ironic because this form looks more like a real waterlily than most ADS waterlilies) but it seems that this form is often on a tall plant with long wiry stems and makes an excellent production cut flower. Nice display!

Ailhad

Teddahlia Another HH Lillibeth fan here. It didn't have enough room this year, which will definitely change next year.

Teddahlia

There is a very old gene associated with some waterlily varieties that causes waterlily form, wire stems(not hollow) and spur leaves on the stem and finally extremely tall plants, some 10 feet or more. I avoid it and it is not in our stock.

SteveM

Teddahlia causes waterlily form, wire stems(not hollow) and spur leaves on the stem and finally extremely tall plants,

I can understand why you wouldn't want those genes floating around show flowers. On the other hand, they make excellent commercial cut flowers. I have grown two varieties (that I can remember) with those traits: Ginger Snap (Swan Island) and Candy Cane (also its sport 'Be a Sport'). Both had almost perfect growth habit (upright, not spreading like most show WLs) and were heavy producers of salable stems all season. I have gotten a few nice cut-flower seedlings from Ginger Snap.

SGriff

Teddahlia is a spur leave a little leaflet that grows along the stem, under a bud, sort of randomly placed?

DarcyD

HH Lillibet is swoon-worthy!!! It doesn’t even look real in real-life 😁 I’m in love with this one and highly recommend it to waterlily lovers.

Teddahlia

I will tell Margaret that you like it and you all know it is named after the late Queen Elizabeth whose nickname was Lilibet in her youth. If I remember, I will have Teresa Bergman send one to her friend in the UK. He would distribute it.

Bessie

Teddahlia I like HH Daydream a little more than HH Lilibet. The UK needs HH Daydream too, in my opinion.☺

JessieC

SteveM
Interesting about Ginger Snap. I grew it as a last minute add last season and it was such a pretty and productive plant. The foliage itself was remarkably attractive and distinctive. The tubers looked good too, so I hope to try it in a couple of spots next year! I love the look of water lily dahlias, but until GS, didn’t love the plants themselves. Thanks for another fascinating discussion!

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