I was most astounded by my Hollyhill Angela (Pre2015 release) tubers. I could hardly lift the mass! The tuber where it started dividing, was between 4-5" thick. It was probably 15" long...I wasn't even sure how to go about it! It would take a saw to cut though that tough woody stem! Too big for either my loppers of my ratchet pruners to cut..they don't even open that far! Eventually I was able to use the scissor blades to insert under the Growth eye of the tubers and pry them off...split just like wood along the grain! My main HH Monet was almost this huge. Fortunately I had started some from cuttings off them and the cutting grown ones were much more manageable! Now both plants have been huge, strong and produced copious amounts of flowers and I love them but my joking about startng a forest of them...well, I think I need a few loggers to harvest from them! What about the others who grew HH Monet this year?
From now on I definitely start these from cuttings! I was able to handle the cutting grown ones and harvest a few tubers from each.
teddahlia Nov 4, 2014 7:41 PM PDT
Name: Ted Oregon We enjoy breeding new dahlias!
Angela makes lots of big tubers. Hollyhill Karen Lee BB IC PR(light purple) makes lots more tubers and bigger tubers than Angela. It is also just as tall as Angela and has that unusual combination of making lots of tubers and being a tall plant. It is an outstanding cut flower and is a light purple and the flowers incurve very nicely and have very, very long stems that are are very stiff. I will be posting a picture of it soon. We are trying to identify seedlings that make tubers.
KA's Cloud was a real standout for me at the Canby Trial Garden. Big, beautiful fluffy white flowers that just kept coming all season. The lavender blush was lovely in the cooler weather, and it went to pure white in the hot part of the summer. Strong stems and sturdy plants too.
Ted, congratulations on scoring on both Rudolph and Hotshot! I had been told that only Rudolph had made it so I am glad I kept that to myself :-). I really liked all of them, but knew Pink Martini was having a rough go of it...I still like it tremendusly for a cut flower. It was slow to come up there and slow to start blooming but I am going to love it in my garden...And I think HH Pixie is just the cutest thing ever! I know it was well liked at the garden just for its own sake. Its going to be very popular at the Farmer's Market!
I am really disappointed that my other favorites did not place, the min FD cream,and baby pink ones that loaded down the plants all summer. I don't know what I wasn't seeing that were faults with them, but have not been able to fit in the judging classes with my market schedules. Delighted to see Bloomquist Sunrays there though...that is one I really liked! The other ones I will have to try to match up with my photos to figure out.
DarcyD Nov 8, 2014 4:42 PM PDT
Name: Darcy D Green Oaks, Illinois
Honestly, that makes me sad. I wonder how many flowers I would love (but aren't perfect show flowers) never make it to consumers.
teddahlia Nov 8, 2014 6:35 PM PDT
Name: Ted Oregon We enjoy breeding new dahlias!
Hollyhill Pink Martini did pass in two trial gardens. Hollyhill Pixie was only entered in the Tacoma garden and even though it did not pass there, it already got two blue ribbons in shows. Judges tend to score flowers a bit too low in trial gardens. I have been saying that they need to have a cut flower "judge' go though the gardens and rate the flowers for cut flower potential. We have a new ADS president and he is a cut flower person and maybe they may do more with cut flowers in the ADS.
PNWGal Nov 8, 2014 7:10 PM PDT
Name: Linda Portland OR, zone 8b
Interesting about HH Pink Martini. But that is supposed to be one of the purposes of having trial gardens around the country, to see how a variety does in different growing conditions. It was slow coming on in the Canby TG as well. Ted, was it useful to you to get the different results from the different gardens?
PNWGal Nov 8, 2014 7:33 PM PDT
Name: Linda Portland OR, zone 8b
I wonder what the percentage is of varieties that are entered in test gardens, don't score high enough to get the coveted "passed" designation, but are released afterwards anyway. After all, the originator is supposed to have built up enough stock to release it the next year, before they even enter it in the TG. I can see why the ADS only releases the names of the entries that did get passing scores, not wanting the others to get labeled as "failed". I suppose it matters most to those of us like Noni & me (and people who see the pictures posted on this site!) who do get to see all the entries in a trial garden, and can see what we might be missing when ones we like don't pass. If we don't know their names, they may well still get released, but we don't know how to find them.
I am still trying to figure out from the results whether they are any of the ones Viv and Les Connel are offering and still not sure...if so they looked better at the park then the pics i took at their place on tour or the ones on their site, but it is a possibility. Also, one of the Bloomquist ones is a possibility.
and the soft yellow
These are all about 3-4" Across I think...and see how prolific they bloomed! When we came to dead head they looked very pretty even before we did it , unlike some of the flowers. So, what would they be classed as, Judges?
OK! FOund the photos where i had the numbers with the flowers. I think these are the winners, and if Not, I apologize because I tried really hard to match them!
Sandia Suncatcher
Sandia Sunbonnet
Barbara's Favorite (Ron Miner)
Baron's Christopher (Ron Miner)
KA's Cloud
Mt View Imogene
Skipley Ida Bella I
Glencoe Fluff
(Continued)
Clifton Ken I had the wrong name posted for this little beauty. Roland says it is his OGC90th or something similar to that...it cellebrates the 90th anniversary of the Olympia Garden Club. It was very pretty in the park all summer.
AC Casper
AC Lindsay
Bloomquist Scott
Bloomquist Paxton P
Bloomquist Tori P OK, this is one of the ones I liked but a cooler, more lavender shade then the pink that l want. I will probably try this one too though..nice for table bouquets at a lavender wedding.
Mak's Crazy 8
GG's Red Russian
Clearview Sharron
More tomorrow...eyes crossing !
CCvacation Nov 9, 2014 6:46 AM PDT
Name: CC PA
I believe I saw Barbara's Favorite at the Midwest Show... I asked Ron Miner if he would mind if I posted it online, and he asked that I avoid mentioning it was his seedling as it was in the trail gardens.
It was striking enough to catch my attention, as one can't possibly take and lable every entry at shows and keep their sanity.
I think you posted his other one, CC..I think this is Baron Christopher, MB Flame...and a beautiful picture of it! Barbara's Favorite is a single dark pink/yellow and it grows tall. I loved it at the test garden... always very intense bright colors that would catch the eye. Barbara's Favorite
CCvacation Nov 9, 2014 9:33 AM PDT
Name: CC PA
Ahh, thank you. Baron Christopher. Neither of our images captures the flame element of that variety. That must have been why I was drawn to it. I'm a sucker for the flames.
I think this one was absolutely brilliant in the last weeks at the garden. Autumn really brought out the gold in it. It was also loaded with flowers so it made quite a statement. It was several rows from HH Hotshot so did not get a direct comparison but both were very nice.
I would be glad to test that one as a cut flower 
and the soft yellow
I
I had the wrong name posted for this little beauty. Roland says it is his OGC90th or something similar to that...it cellebrates the 90th anniversary of the Olympia Garden Club. It was very pretty in the park all summer. 
OK, this is one of the ones I liked but a cooler, more lavender shade then the pink that l want. I will probably try this one too though..nice for table bouquets at a lavender wedding.
Barbara's Favorite
B SC DB DP/YL
