I have a second year WL seedling blooming but the first two blooms are open centered and all chewed up by something , will pass on taking a photo .
I am also trying Bloomquist Carol but it is a long way from blooming here .
I know. I can't figure out why mine is so yellow. I don't think it is mislabeled.
teddahlia Jun 20, 2017 8:28 PM PDT
Name: Ted Oregon We enjoy breeding new dahlias!
In order to get orange, a yellow flower needs to be covered in light red pigment. You can see that on the Bloomquist Carol picture but the red pigment is uneven on that bloom. There are versions of red pigment that fade easily and it appears that Tahoma Flare has that pigment. On Bloomquist Carol, if you pick the bloom, the orange color will be enhanced as the red pigment will spread and cover the florets and the orange will be better. Neither of those pictures are very complimentary.
sylviap Jun 21, 2017 7:19 AM PDT
Name: Sylvia West Sacramento, CA Zone 9b
teddahlia wrote: Neither of those pictures are very complimentary.
If that means that the pictures are not good examples of the variety, I wholeheartedly agree. In fact, it is one of the reasons why I posted them as they are so different from what I thought I purchased. I'm wondering if it is heat or mislabeling or....? I'll have to wait for blooms in cooler weather and for others to post their pictures of these blooms to compare.
If that means I take crummy pictures... well
teddahlia Jun 21, 2017 8:13 AM PDT
Name: Ted Oregon We enjoy breeding new dahlias!
Most of the pictures we see are done of good looking flowers. Your pictures are fine and show us what these particular flowers look like in your garden.
Flowers do grow differently in different climates. Heat and lots of it is hard on many varieties.
I have seen pictures of our varieties grown in adverse conditions and am usually quite surprised. One trait that expresses itself in hot weather is split tips. In our garden HH Diablo does not have split tips. I saw a picture of it from a hot climate and it looked terrible with split tips. Fading is the other negative in hot climates. HH Firelight is a glorious version of deep orange red in cloudy areas and in sunny climates is so faded and ugly that is unbelievable and I can understand why it was a one year flower in those gardens. In cooler climates, it is shown and even takes higher honors. Other flower defects show up in hot weather too. Green centers on varieties that do not have them in cooler weather is one. The biggest defect that shows up in hot weather is a lack of vigor. Varieties need to put on some growth before the hot weather and if they are slow growers, they do not do well.
sylviap Jun 21, 2017 8:35 AM PDT
Name: Sylvia West Sacramento, CA Zone 9b
I usually pick only vivid strong colors as they do better here in the heat. Orange was high on my list last year to buy and so all of those should have been a nice, bright orange. It was a surprise to what extent the heat faded the orange out. I haven't experienced that degree of color shift before. I have not found many nice reds either as they tend to get muddy. Taratahi Ruby is supposed to be the cat's meow for red, but I yanked it after season 1. I'm hopeful when it cools down next week, subsequent blooms will be closer to the true color.
A member from San Francisco remarked to me about split tips. She said in her climate it was almost impossible to get much of them, but not a problem here. Of course if you don't like split tips, that a different problem.
I'm always searching for what will grow well here. I like dahlias and many of them grow quite well.
Kenora Jubilee flowering just fine in the heat. We need to get the heat tolerant list out again.
teddahlia Jun 21, 2017 9:07 AM PDT
Name: Ted Oregon We enjoy breeding new dahlias!
You have stated the conundrum about red dahlia pigment. One version is always a very bright vibrant red that is intense and pleasing, that is until the sun comes out. It fades immediately(I do mean immediately as just a couple of hours will do it) in bright sunlight to colors that do not even resemble red. Kenora Wow has this glorious red and when the sun comes out it looks like crap.
The other red pigment gets darker in the sunlight but darker is not better in this case because as you say the sunlight "muddies" the red pigment and makes it too dark and non reflective. .
Which is the better red pigment? I say the second because it takes lots more sun to bring on the muddy look. In normal sunlight, these red flowers look bright and nice. In that same low dose of sunlight, the first version above, immediately fades. So, is there a red that can take the really intense sunlight without getting "muddy". I doubt it.
sylviap Jun 21, 2017 9:36 AM PDT
Name: Sylvia West Sacramento, CA Zone 9b
Yet yellow seems to be stable?
teddahlia Jun 21, 2017 10:49 AM PDT
Name: Ted Oregon We enjoy breeding new dahlias!
Show people complain that white and yellow have an advantage on the other colors as they do not fade. White that has lavender highlights may fade to pure white. Some yellows have similar highlights that can fade away. White is a pigment and if you do not have enough white pigment, the floret burns(turns brown, especially on the edges) in the sun. I doubt that yellow stays really bright in heavy sun but at least it fades evenly.
If you have never seen dahlias in the cool weather of the PNW, you have not seen dahlias at their best. They can grow varieties that fade in most climates and they have intense vibrant colors. And some of the more obsessive PNW growers put them under shade cloth to get even brighter colors.
The trial garden in Tacoma has an almost ideal climate and setting for dahlias. I literally did not recognize a couple of our own varieties(Hollyhill Twilight and Hollyhill Monet) that were entered there when I visited the garden. The plants were taller and flowers intensely colored, much more so than here in Oregon City.
FLflowerboy Jun 21, 2017 5:06 PM PDT
Name: Jon George Gainesville, FL ...crazy enough to grow dahlias in
sylviap wrote:
I know. I can't figure out why mine is so yellow. I don't think it is mislabeled.
My Tahoma Flare was not this intense, but a medium orange.
sylviap Jun 21, 2017 6:08 PM PDT
Name: Sylvia West Sacramento, CA Zone 9b
I looked at the site - Dahlias by Les and Viv and am wondering if BQ Carol might be BQ Tangerine? Someone who knows more about petals and form etc would have to check for me.
teddahlia Jun 26, 2017 4:07 PM PDT
Name: Ted Oregon We enjoy breeding new dahlias!
About 5 or 6 first year seedlings are blooming. These are very short plants with small flowers. No keepers among them. One has a glorious dark blend of dark pink and yellow but I can see part of the pollen center. Maybe in cooler weather it will have a fully closed center(not very likely).
addicted Jun 30, 2017 4:33 PM PDT
Name: Em NY
I am SO envious of all of you with actual blooms!! I do see a couple of small buds forming, but I don't expect any flowers (except the mignon singles) for another couple of weeks. So hard to wait!!
Benny101 Jul 1, 2017 5:13 AM PDT
Greenville MI - zone 5b
HH Paris had a couple blooms on out at the North grow but they were a bit funky from the heat , I noticed they were spent this morning as I was making an inspection walk about with coffee in hand , going out to deadhead it here in a minute after my break , there are two or three more buds just opening and a couple more beyond that setting already , everything is liking this cooler rainy weather we are having lately , especially the weeds and my lawn that needs mowing badly .
sylviap Jul 1, 2017 7:37 AM PDT
Name: Sylvia West Sacramento, CA Zone 9b
About half of the garden is in bloom. Some of these show a little heat damage from last week's scorching temps.
Bloomquist Globe
Inland Dynasty
HH Big Red [the outer ring of petals is a little frayed by the heat]
HH Diamond [heat tolerant]
Tahoma Little One - a bonus tuber. Unusual for me to get this light pink blush especially with the heat we have had.
AC JC is in bloom but will have to get a ladder out to take a picture. It is above my head - maybe 5 1/2 feet tall and facing straight up.
sylviap Jul 1, 2017 8:04 AM PDT
Name: Sylvia West Sacramento, CA Zone 9b
addicted wrote:I am SO envious of all of you with actual blooms!! I do see a couple of small buds forming, but I don't expect any flowers (except the mignon singles) for another couple of weeks. So hard to wait!!
The garden is half in bloom and the other half almost ready to pop. BUT... we are leaving for South Carolina on Thursday for 2 weeks to see family. I've been wanting to go all winter, but now that the yard is almost in full bloom, I hate to go.
vikingcraftsman Jul 1, 2017 8:04 AM PDT
Well this is the first to bloom for me in the 2017 season. It is Tahoma Vivian. A small bloom, but by the buds will be prolific. It has great color for those into reds and yellows. I have several dahlias in my collection with this color.
FLflowerboy Jul 1, 2017 12:29 PM PDT
Name: Jon George Gainesville, FL ...crazy enough to grow dahlias in
Thanks for sharing Sylvia! I too am leaving for Wilmington NC for a funeral. I have loved AC JC and I just noticed AC Big Mary was almost 7 feet with the flower right up out of sight at the very top.
My flowers are smaller than the PNW, but I am enjoying the vigor!
AC JC
So hard to wait!!
Well this is the first to bloom for me in the 2017 season. It is Tahoma Vivian. A small bloom, but by the buds will be prolific. It has great color for those into reds and yellows. I have several dahlias in my collection with this color. 