Thanks, Noni. That sounds doable. I'm all for keeping things simple!
Flowernut Jul 31, 2016 7:32 AM PDT
Name: Jane Southern California Zone 9/10
Thanks to everyone that continue to post pictures. I need to learn to just enjoy the picture and not continue to add to my list every time I see a beautiful dahlia.
Speaking of adding to my list......love your postings from the trial garden, Noni. I have chosen the following:
#4-love the form
#32-surprise color as it opens?
#33-sweet form and color
#34-Beautiful color and form
#51-love the color combo
#52-love the golden color
teddahlia Jul 31, 2016 8:17 AM PDT
Name: Ted Oregon We enjoy breeding new dahlias!
As we sit here on our computers looking at the nice pictures of the flowers, may I say there is nothing equivalent to actually visiting the trial garden and seeing the plants in person. And I suppose if that is not possible, the pictures are useful but if you can go see the plant in person that is much better. Probably just as good as the pictures is having someone that you trust evaluate the plants for you. In trial gardens the judges evaluate the varieties for show purposes and that has some value even for people who do not show. I wish that they would have an organized way of having trial garden entries evaluated for other purposes than show. It sounds so simple to me to have someone who sells cut flowers cruise the garden and pick out some good candidates and share that information. I mentioned this to an ADS official recently and he was totally against the idea. One of his "reasons": cut flower people do not groom their plants like show people and they would have to grow more plants that were groomed like the cut flower people groom their plants.
Its a bit hard picking cut flowers out of a "Show Flower" Garden, because you hear the comment form the show people..."well, it might be OK for a cut flower" or "Its just a cut flower" meaning it not good enough for a show flower, but not evaluating it for things like substance, stem length, or fading in sun. Or they might not realize that a big one would make a good cut flower...
I think the best bet might be "cut flower" businesses sponsoring or having "test gardens" open to the public. And savvy Breeders might send in their plants there for trials. I can do my little '35 plant' trial bed, but I don't get that many people through here to see it and most are not interested so much in looking for new ones to grow...they just want a pretty bouquet right now.
Speaking of which, all of the flowers I took to market from my test bed, sold quickly and happily! Linda, all but the dark red one are doing beautifully! It has another bud opening but looks like it will be open centered too My little 1915 HH Paris/HH Tangerine seedling is cute but goes open centered. However, that did not detract from it at all in a bouquet. With its rows of fringy bright orange petals it was cute as could be and it has wonderful long dark stems so it can easily top a bouquet. I did have to remove one of Ted's for being badly virused, and one of Linda's for the same, but both were with permission to remove. I am so looking forward to the blooming of Bennie's which will happen SOON!
My little "Calico Pie in the Sky" collarettes accidently got planted in the garden with a tag that said "HH Paris Teatime". ( I thought i had an awful lot of that one!) Well 3 plants of Pie in the Sky are growing great with long stems and beautiful unique flowers and look amazing in bouquets! I need to pick some for myself now and see how long they actually last since they are collarettes.
teddahlia Jul 31, 2016 10:37 AM PDT
Name: Ted Oregon We enjoy breeding new dahlias!
Of course, the perfect cut flower test solution is your own cut flower trial gardens. And no show judges allowed unless they sell lots of cut flowers. Note plural, at least 3 or 4 test gardens. Meanwhile, people like Noni could take the time to select the best candidates for cut flowers from the trial gardens close to them. I will gladly do it for Canby with one caveat: I cannot be unbiased about my own entries. And you all realize that it is just one opinion and that another person may have a different opinion. I am a believer in that if you gather several opinions you get a pretty good appraisal. Of course, there will be no data on the flowers removed from the bushes. So no life of bloom or wilting info.
I had my first "Cumulous" bloom. Now that is a LOVELY white! It has lt tints of lavender and yellow in it like KA's Cloud but in a smoother, smaller flower. Actually, not a small flower at all, but smaller then KA's CLoud. It held up very well at Market yesterday. We were surprised that it did not sell because we both loved the bouquet we made out of it. But it looked good enough at the end that I sent the bouquet off with my Wwoofergirl to give to her hostess for the weekend in the city.
I wish it did not have such suspect foliage. I pulled one and left the other two plants for now but they are under intense scrutiny. I wish I had enough land and help to grow lots of this one out to save only the best stock like Christie Parks.
FLflowerboy Jul 31, 2016 2:26 PM PDT
Name: Jon George Gainesville, FL ...crazy enough to grow dahlias in
Tallest bloom in the garden today
Bo-Joy topping out over 8 ft. (not including the 1 ft of potting soil in the grow bag)
Benny101 Jul 31, 2016 2:58 PM PDT
Greenville MI - zone 5b
Cumulus is blooming here also
ClearCreekDahlias Jul 31, 2016 4:05 PM PDT
Western New York State Dahlias! Dahlias! Dahlias!
Still waiting for most of mine to bloom other than the crappy stunted and warped blooms.
Now I have HH Monet in bloom, and that is the only decent bloom so far.
Flowernut Jul 31, 2016 4:47 PM PDT
Name: Jane Southern California Zone 9/10
Jon, Bo-Joy sure is cheerful.
Benny, Cumulus is a beautiful bloom. Noni, I would like to see your Cumulus with the tints of lavender and yellow.
Kim, your HH Monet has the beautiful colors I love. She never did well in my garden...too faded.
Ted, I have used your cut flower ratings that you post on your site. Very helpful.
Jane, my Cumulous looks exactly like the photo Benny posted. They are just hints of colors, sort of, well, like clouds!
We paired it with soft pinks and yellows and more white in our beautiful bouquet.
luvflowers Jul 31, 2016 5:01 PM PDT
Jon, very nice Bo-Joy in the sky! Do you need a ladder to cut the blooms?
Love the Cumulus & HH Monet! My friend planted a HH Monet for me, but it was mislabeled. ðŸ™
mandolls Jul 31, 2016 5:02 PM PDT
Name: Geof WI
Bo Joy is crazy prolific!
And that HH Monet is a beauty - my first two blooms are a bit faded and bug chewed, hoping it will get better.
Benny101 Jul 31, 2016 5:58 PM PDT
Greenville MI - zone 5b
Yes the colors in cumulus are very subtle , both plants are in a partly shaded corner that receives mostly morning and late evening sun so blooms generally fade very little if any out there . Both plants were a bit slow getting started but are starting to recover nicely , thinking it is not very appreciative of heat and humidity .
It might be the humidity, Benny. As far as I know, these come from the the Spokane area of Washington. At least that was the source I found for it. The climate there is hot dry summers, cold and snowy winters. It is VERY different from our West Side of the Mountains climate here in Washington State. The daylight hours would be about the same though but they would not have the maritime fogs and mists.
FLflowerboy Jul 31, 2016 6:56 PM PDT
Name: Jon George Gainesville, FL ...crazy enough to grow dahlias in
luvflowers wrote:Jon, very nice Bo-Joy in the sky! Do you need a ladder to cut the blooms?
It is kind of fun to have to jump up to try to snip off the top flowers while deadheading!!
DahliaGardener Jul 31, 2016 6:57 PM PDT
Name: Cynthia BG, KY USDA Zone 6b Sanity = Dirt under your nails...
Noni, HH Lemon Ice is blooming - without the ice, lol!! It's super pretty, too. Not school bus yellow, but kind of in the mid range and a very attractive form. Will get pictures later.
C DG
Benny101 Aug 1, 2016 3:03 AM PDT
Greenville MI - zone 5b
I have several varieties that do not care much for the high humidity , Have noticed that when all the others are slightly wilty on a hot humid day HH Zarina seems to not notice , the plant anyway , just about to bloom I see over at the grow , one plant is easily 6' tall already . Once you get over 64% humidity here for any period of time things can get strange
