Consider me already in line for a chance to have Leda back in my garden...
Paige Jan 20, 2021 6:05 PM PDT
Name: Paige Snohomish
HH Leda is on my list of “almost impossible to getâ€. However, those are the dahlias that keep us chasingðŸ˜
Cosey Jan 21, 2021 6:44 AM PDT
Name: LeeAnn Zone 6b, Pennsylvania
I finally dipped my toe in the anemone water last season. My sister is a huge fan of growing them and I found this Aubergine in her pile of tuber seconds. I'm absolutely smitten.
She planted all her anemone collection together and I combed through her patch last fall to gather seed. Can I be lucky enough to get a new anemone seedling on the first try? Let's hope PA bees know what they are doing? 🤣 I image I'll be seeing a bunch of weirdos in the seedling patch this summer.
teddahlia Jan 21, 2021 9:01 AM PDT
Name: Ted Oregon We enjoy breeding new dahlias!
I am still bummed out by my revelation that it is impossible to breed really large anemones. They are limited by the size of the pollen center as the florets are "disc florets" not "ray florets" . They are elongated tubes that protected the reproductive parts. Perhaps you could cross a dahlia with a sunflower and get huge pollen centers and tasty seeds.
blown_dry Jan 21, 2021 12:38 PM PDT
Name: Amanda CA Redwood Coast - Zone 9b DahliaAddict.com
Why could dahlias not have a pollen center the size of a sun flower? I don't remember.
Score on the Aubergine, LeeAnn. Those are not easy to come by. My love for Mambo has gotten me on an anemone kick as well.
teddahlia Jan 21, 2021 1:11 PM PDT
Name: Ted Oregon We enjoy breeding new dahlias!
Why could dahlias not have a pollen center the size of a sun flower? I have seen about 30,000 seedlings over the years and have never seen a pollen center that was much bigger than a quarter. Would I have noticed one if bit me in the aXX? Maybe not but someone, somewhere would have noticed if there were one. Every year when I harvest the dahlia seeds, the birds stuff a small sunflower seed into the dahlia pod. I have saved these seeds thinking they were dahlia seeds on steroids. When sprouted they are just sunflowers.
SteveM Jan 21, 2021 4:42 PM PDT
Name: Steve San Diego Commercial cut flower grower
LeeAnn, nice color! To get a larger anemone I think I would start with a large single flower and cross it with your seedling. Not many breeders want single dahlias (of any size) growing around their seed parents (for obvious reasons) so you would either have to bag the pollen parent or keep the cross isolated. At worst, with such a cross, you should eventually get an anemone with large ray petals and a smaller set of proportional disk florets. However, I think it would be possible to increase the size of the pollen area with selection - no one has ever tried as far as I know.
20 years ago I had a couple of nice single seedlings that I used for crosses in my program to get a large orchid type. After a few generations I had orchid seedlings that were over 6" and were beginning to look quite stunning in the garden. I went back to school for about 5 years and quit raising dahlias for that time so I no longer have the results of those crosses.
Here is one I am enjoying working with. This will be its 3rd year and I have kept it going because of its cinnamon brown color. I call it "Eartha" and to me it is the sunflower of dahlias...grows tall and about 6-8" across/ Now if we could get an anemone puff in the middle! And yes,, I know it has too many petals for a single but it just does what it wants to and it makes me laugh.
SteveM Jan 21, 2021 6:05 PM PDT
Name: Steve San Diego Commercial cut flower grower
That's a beautiful, unique color. I think if crossed with LeeAnn's seedling the progeny would make for some interesting seedlings. The form of the ray florets shouldn't matter in this new creation. Even a semi-double anemone would be acceptable, maybe even preferable.
I am glad you like the color Steve. I do too. I will play with it this year and see what happens. I had a a lot of seed from Platinum Blonde so maybe I can use it to cross with this one. I'm also very interested to grow those PB seedlings out and see if I have anything interesting! I have thought how much fun it would be to plant a row of these Eartha along my driveway and see people's reactions but I bet the deer would get them right off...
teddahlia Jan 21, 2021 7:11 PM PDT
Name: Ted Oregon We enjoy breeding new dahlias!
:"Even a semi-double anemone would be acceptable, maybe even preferable." I was told in a judging class that an anemone has a form description only for the disc florets and that the ray florets that surround the disc florets can be any size, shape or number. So theoretically you could have a "ball" anemone with several rows of ball shaped florets.
SteveM Jan 21, 2021 7:37 PM PDT
Name: Steve San Diego Commercial cut flower grower
I hope to live long enough to see a Straight Cactus Anemone win Best in Show at the ADS National Show. :)
Cosey Jan 21, 2021 9:32 PM PDT
Name: LeeAnn Zone 6b, Pennsylvania
Two years ago I had a seedling with a 3 inch bud only to bloom open center but it was a 6" or so single. It was an Ali Pop seedling. The color was harvest gold. I really wanted to keep it but it was downward facing and couldn't do it. Maybe I should have just to try some incremental improvements.
I also tried to get some of Hammett's Sunflower Dahlia Seeds but I missed that boat. Bummer.
Islander I really like your seedling and you should absolutely try some fun crosses with it.
If I keep any weirdo seedlings, they always get planted in the seedling part of the field far away from my seed parent bed.
Cosey Jan 21, 2021 9:35 PM PDT
Name: LeeAnn Zone 6b, Pennsylvania
Forgive me if I already shared this seedling on here. But I was excited to see this seedling this year.
teddahlia Jan 21, 2021 10:32 PM PDT
Name: Ted Oregon We enjoy breeding new dahlias!
A true novelty bloom
blown_dry Jan 22, 2021 10:03 AM PDT
Name: Amanda CA Redwood Coast - Zone 9b DahliaAddict.com
Very cool!
Cosey Jan 24, 2021 6:34 PM PDT
Name: LeeAnn Zone 6b, Pennsylvania
I was browsing my photo roll and found this beauty of a Snoho Les. Does anyone else grow it? I don't see it for sale often.
teddahlia Jan 28, 2021 10:57 AM PDT
Name: Ted Oregon We enjoy breeding new dahlias!
We have been growing this cream colored waterlily since it was seedling in 2017. Margaret and I both do not feel that it has a tight enough center to be sold and we were worried about tuber production too. Meanwhile, we used it as a seed parent and the seedlings are wonderful. We have plenty of tubers to plant this year and who knows, if it looks good in the garden(it did look good in 2020) there is a chance we may sell it. In any case, we will continue to grow it to get the nice seedlings.
seeds. 
And yes,, I know it has too many petals for a single but it just does what it wants to and it makes me laugh.
