I have Labyrinth getting ready to bloom...I had to order a 6 pk of them to obtain it so traded away some and hopefully will have extra tubers this fall. I think I kept 3 or 4 plants of it. Seems like I pulled one for looking unhealthy. I am sure its going to be a popular one for Island weddings! It may look wonderful WITH Cafe Au Lait if there is enough contrast. My Cafe's seem very slow growing this year.
DillyDahlia Aug 1, 2017 3:55 PM PDT
Name: Tina NY Zone 5b/6a Flower Power!
My one and only Cafe is growing slowly also.
blown_dry Aug 1, 2017 8:16 PM PDT
Name: Amanda CA Redwood Coast - Zone 9b DahliaAddict.com
Summer Rain (thanks for carrying this one, Honken Dahlias), AC Freebird (big and fun, but I'm not in love), Go American (Big.)
Mingus Arthur K (OMG I grew a white flower!), Alfred Grille, Aja (Orange Fans, OMG this is so gorgeous.)
Hollyhill Augustina, Go American (so many petals), Sandrine (My picture does not do this flower justice. It is the loveliest shell pink shades with a distinct creamy center on a big healthy plant. Even I, who struggle with the subtle, fell in love.)
honnat Aug 1, 2017 8:48 PM PDT
St. Paul, MN
Those first Summer Rain flowers have a lot more colors blended. Later, it'll be more beige. Mine are SLOW this year. Probably a month away from flowers at least.
That Mingus Arthur K is cool!
I bought both Summer Rain and Blown Dry from Corralitos but one of the two is not a happy camper..pretty sure it is virused and I am unhappy about that. The other one looks great and will bloom soon...Can't remember which one has the marked leaves.
jj85 Aug 2, 2017 6:27 AM PDT
Name: JJ Willamette Valley // Oregon
Amber Queen. The second to bloom for me! These plants are covered! Holding up well in the heat. I have so many buds ready to burst... can't wait for all the color!
Not sure if my Cafes are slow going as I've never grown them before but there's tons of buds!
drewtheflorist Aug 2, 2017 8:10 AM PDT
Name: Drew the Florist 14 miles S E of Pittsburgh
a 10 x 8 " Survivor that won't bloom that big at show time... AC Kuntz getting a little freaky Ruskin Andrea seems to be a blooming machine Windhaven Blush A-SC-Y Sandia Comanche
blown_dry Aug 2, 2017 8:56 AM PDT
Name: Amanda CA Redwood Coast - Zone 9b DahliaAddict.com
Like that AC Kuntz. Fun!
sylviap Aug 2, 2017 9:50 AM PDT
Name: Sylvia West Sacramento, CA Zone 9b
Windhaven Blush - nice!
teddahlia Aug 2, 2017 10:23 AM PDT
Name: Ted Oregon We enjoy breeding new dahlias!
Ruskin Andrea can be a show winner but it takes lots of shading, disbudding and even disbranching to control it's tendency to have too many blooms. The bloom quality is very poor when it is allowed to overbloom. There are lots of show flowers that share this trait of over blooming including Lakeview Glow. It is a bit better than R. Andrea as the quality of the numerous flowers is a bit better. Over blooming can be a good trait if the quality of the flowers does not decline too much.
HH Tempest has the opposite trait: it has very few flowers on a huge monstrous bush. It also makes oversized tubers in huge clumps that are hard to dig. Margaret loved those variegated flowers for her arrangements but it is not worth the effort for me.
JJ, your Cafe's are ahead of mine...I do have one bud starting to show color but the plants are really short this year. Its never been a tall one but mine are like rediculously short...less then 12" probably. I'm going to run another fertigation round and see if that pushed them up any. It is going to be beautiful when yours bloom!
jj85 Aug 2, 2017 12:20 PM PDT
Name: JJ Willamette Valley // Oregon
I have two beds of CAL on both ends of my dahlia garden, one gets full sun until about 4PM and the other until about 7:30-ish. The plants that get less sun are taller. Excited to see if it will have any influence on their coloring. 1-2 of my plants sprouted and grew into a tight fat mound of foliage but not changing in terms of height... is that common? A virus?
DillyDahlia Aug 2, 2017 4:49 PM PDT
Name: Tina NY Zone 5b/6a Flower Power!
Thank you everyone for the great photos and sharing the dahlias you are all growing.
May i ask advice on what I should do with this branch? It went from no buds to 3 buds in no time at all. Do I remove any of these buds?
Notice the middle bud is facing the ground. It looks "sad". I do not know the variety as the tag has gone missing.
I bought both Summer Rain and Blown Dry from Corralitos but one of the two is not a happy camper..pretty sure it is virused and I am unhappy about that. The other one looks great and will bloom soon...Can't remember which one has the marked leaves.
I think if you take off the two outer smaller buds the center one will stand up and grow happy. It will then get all the "blooming vibes" and know that it has to do its "Attract a pollinator" thing... Working at the test garden I have learned to be a ruthless disbudder
Here is a real pretty one! This is Narrows Ryder, new this year. It comes from Ken and Marilyn Walton and is named for their infant great grandson. This is my first bloom on it. I thought it was a min fd but is growing BB sized for me...but this is the first bloom. Can you imagine it in a bouquet with HH Miss Whites?!
As I suspected, that # 23 AT THE TEST GARDEN that all liked...its the one that looks like my Evening Glow this week but a bit more color intense then Evening GLow I think. Mine is budded but not in bloom yet to compare.. I think Evening glow has stronger longer stems though...or did last year.
Some other new blooms at the test garden this week #5 #51
A true "dinnerplate"///its about 10" across and not very thick at all. Colors are gorgeous though...just guessing, maybe Swan Island? Intnese purple but looks like maybe the curse of the purples? If I remember right there was only this one bloom on the 3 plants...or maybe there were fewer then 3 plants... #6, #9
a 10 x 8 " Survivor that won't bloom that big at show time...
AC Kuntz getting a little freaky
Ruskin Andrea seems to be a blooming machine
Windhaven Blush A-SC-Y
Sandia Comanche
I think Evening glow has stronger longer stems though...or did last year.
#5
#51
A true "dinnerplate"///its about 10" across and not very thick at all. Colors are gorgeous though...just guessing, maybe Swan Island?
Intnese purple but looks like maybe the curse of the purples? If I remember right there was only this one bloom on the 3 plants...or maybe there were fewer then 3 plants...
#6, 
#9