I wanted to share this fun experiment with this group. I connected with a family run business in Colorado (Boulder Colors if you wanted to Google them) this summer that extracts natural pigments from nature. I sent her boxes of blooms and she developed the most gorgeous fall watercolor paint palette from some of my varieties. I was nerding out at the chemistry involved and how each variety expressed different pigment hues.
Coseytown Good Night is my darkest dahlia and to her surprise the color maintained it's deep rich dark purple hue. C. Sangria is pretty much the same color as Diva and it developed a pigment slightly lighter than Good Night.
Based on the chemical nature of dahlia colors, this is a great visual presentation at the concentration of anthocyanins of both dahlia.
King Midas is a mauve bloom that will brighten considerably into a deep pink, and yet it's pigment developed orange indicating it's color is primarily made up of chalcones and aurones.
I used a collection of red seedlings (primary seed parent was HH Code Red) for the mixed red pigment.
I made my connection with Boulder Colors late in the season and was busy with two research projects, so I didn't get to explore this as much as I wanted to. However, next season I might get more creative and become a bit more ambitious with experimenting with different varieties.
I wish I still had Maarn, HH Pandora, HH Blk Beauty, and an electric yellow seedling I culled early this year. The color was intense and I bet it would have yielded a pretty pigment.
