Some of My Favorite Dahlias This Summer Season
Hello friends,
Today I wanted to share with you some of my favorite old and new dahlias for the 2024/2025 summer season that I didn't get a chance to do a dahlia profile on, because life is always crazy busy in the garden over the summer.
First up is Strawberries and Cream, a decorative dahlia I bought on a whim after a couple of dahlia tubers died last spring, and I needed to replace my Cafe Au Lait dahlia. The shades of white and pink are just so pretty and girly, and the flowers have nice long stems, which make them perfect for cutting.
Next we have one of my favorite old dahlias, Protegee, which is a pretty single dahlia bred by Dr Keith Hammett. This dahlia is a bumblebee magnet all summer long, and really stands out in the garden.
Next we have another old favorite, Penhill Dark Monarch, which is a huge dinner plate dahlia with just wonderful shades of purples, pinks, and apricots.
Next we have another new decorative dahlia, Iced Tea, which I've really fallen in love with over this summer. I am quite happily keeping this dahlia for next year, and can't wait to see it with lots of bright peach flowers.
Next up we have one of my first new anemone dahlias, The Phantom. It's pop of bright purple flowers is a great sight to see in the garden over the summer. Unfortunately I planted it in the wrong place, so I'll move it to a better position in winter.
Fenna Baij is another new anemone dahlia, with very pretty light purple and gold shades.
Pink magic is a floriferous waterlily dahlia which brightens the garden all summer. I've really fallen in love with waterlily dahlias this summer, so I think I'll invest in more next season.
I replaced my Cafe Au Lait dahlia this season, after the old dahlia tuber rotted last spring in October. I replaced it, and this dahlia has the purple-tinged shades my previous dahlia didn't have. I'm very happy about this, and will be moving this dahlia to a better position over the winter.
Next we have Silver Years, which is a mostly white decorative dahlia with pink vein striping, and a cream center. I really like this dahlia as a pop of white in the garden, and am quite happy to keep it for next year.
Dutch Pearl is another new waterlily dahlia, and it really is stunning next to my Little Miss Perfect rose. I can see why this dahlia is very popular in dahlia circles right now.
Next there is my new Cafe Au Lait Royal dahlia, another dinner plate dahlia to add to the Cafe Au Lait dahlia family. The light pink colours and striping are just stunning. I need to find a better way to stake the plant though, the flower heads are huge, and the dahlia has some trouble holding them up.
And finally we have another new dahlia, Pinky Swear, which is another large dinner plate dahlia, and the striped pink shades, along with yellow are just florescent. I'm very happy to have this dahlia in a darker part of my garden.
I'm just so pleased to have so many beautiful old and new dahlias flowering this summer, and hope to have some more new ones next season...
Have a wonderful day
Julie-Ann
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Dahlia Profile - Lucky Number Seedlings
Hello friends,
Today we're looking at dahlia seedlings that I grew from Lucky Number dahlia seeds I harvested back in the summer of 2024.
First up we have the original Lucky Number dahlia. It's a peony dahlia with multiple rows of bright pink petals, with yellow centers. Each flower is about the width of my palm. Lucky Number gets to about 1 metre in height with bright green leaves and brown stems.
And here are the progeny of my Lucky Number dahlia.
This first one is a single dahlia with colours of peach and yellow in the petals, and a smaller flower than Lucky Number. The dahlia plant is similar in size to Lucky Number, but the stems are much darker in colour. My hunch is that this dahlia is a cross between Lucky Number and my Mystic Sparkler dahlia in the garden.
The second dahlia is pretty similar to the first dahlia, but the petal colours are a much darker pink, and there is an uneven mottling across the flower petals. The flowers are much bigger than Lucky Number in size, and I think this dahlia is a cross between Lucky Number and a red hybrid tree dahlia that grew in my garden in 2024, from seed that I purchased from NZ dahlia breeder Keith Hammett. The hybrid tree dahlia was bright red in colour with huge single flowers similar to this seedling.
The third seedling is definitely another cross between Lucky Number and the red hybrid tree dahlia. The petal colour is exactly the same as the red tree dahlia, but has rows of petals similar to Lucky Number, and the plant as a whole is similar to Lucky Number in size and colour.
And last up is a Lucky Number seedling that looks like a smaller cross of the third seedling. The flower is much smaller, and the red a bit more scarlet. I think this is also a cross with the red hybrid tree dahia.
It was an interesting experiment to grow seeds from the Lucky Number dahlia, and right now I'm unsure if I will keep any of the seedlings, as space is always at a premium in my garden. I'll make a decision in the coming weeks on what to do with these dahlias, and then tag them for digging up or keeping them once the first frost has passed.
Have a wonderful day
Julie-Ann
Want to discuss my post? Feel free to chat with me on Instagram or Mastodon or Bluesky.
Dahlia Profile - Keith Hammett Beeline II Flowers
Hello friends,
Today's dahlia profile is for the dahlias grown from Keith Hammett's Beeline II dahila seed mix.
From his website: "This series is different as it is based on 'Dark Destiny', a cultivar resulting from a cross between a dwarf hybrid garden dahlia and Dahlia sherffii, a species not previously used in Dahlia breeding...The colours are more restrained and much of their beauty lies in light being transmitted through the ray florets (petals) to give a stained glass window effect. Compact self supporting plants with finely divided foliage."
I sowed 6 seeds, and all of them grew big enough to plant out in the garden, and they all flowered.
Dahlia 1:
Dahlia 2:
Dahlia 3:
Dahlia 4:
Dahlia 5:
Dahlia 6:
As you may have noticed, Dahlia 6 really is the star out of all dahlias grown from Keith Hammett's Beeline II seed mix. The inner part of the ray florets are a deep tangerine which changes ombré style into dark pinks/purples. There is also streaks of dark pink coming out from the inside of the floret all the way to the outside. It definitely has a stained glass effect, and it really stands out in the garden.
Out of all the Beeline II dahlias I grew, only dahlia 6 stands out well enough for me to want to keep the tuber in the coming years. Dahlias 2, 3, 4, and 5 are all pretty plain looking, and don't interest me. Dahlia 1 is kind of tempting, but we'll see how it performs over the rest of the summer and autumn to gauge if it will be worth keeping it.
Have a wonderful day
Julie-Ann
Want to discuss my post? Feel free to chat with me on Instagram or Mastodon or Bluesky.
Dahlia Profile - Floret Bee's Choice Flowers
Hello friends,
Today's dahlia profile is for my Floret Bee's Choice flowers. I bought dahlia and zinnia Floret flower seeds from Emerden in New Zealand last spring, and sowed them in October.
From Floret's Website: "Floret Bee's Choice was collected from all of our different dahlia breeding patches on the farm and includes a wide range of shapes, sizes, and colors—no two plants will be the same! Most of the flowers will have open centers, which will attract lots of pollinators to your garden. If you discover a variety you love, tubers can be saved and planted out the following year." Planted in full sun, plants will reach 48 to 72 in tall.
Floret 1:
Floret 2:
Floret 3:
Floret 4:
Floret 7:
Floret 8:
Floret 10:
As you can see from the Floret Bee's Choice dahlias that have flowered so far, dahlias 1, 2, 3, 4, and 8 all have yellow/orange colouring, with a range of petal numbers, with dahlias 3 and 8 having extra frills. Dahlias 7 and 10 are shades of pink, with dahlia 7 has curled inward petals, and dahlia 10 being pretty plain.
In terms of choosing which dahlias to keep at the end of the season, the only one I definitely want to keep is dahlia 3, with it's yellow/apricot colouring and pretty frills. I'm also kind of tempted by dahlia 8, but I'll see how it looks as the season goes on.
I have really enjoyed the process of dahlia growing from seed, watching the process from germination, to flowering, and I'll definitely collect seed from them in autumn.
Have a wonderful day
Julie-Ann
Want to discuss my post? Feel free to chat with me on Instagram or Mastodon or Bluesky.
Dahlia Profile - Caitlins Joy
Hello friends,
Today's dahlia profile is for the ball dahlia Caitlins Joy, which I got from Bulbs Direct a couple of years ago.
From Bulb's Direct website: "Iridescent raspberry compact blooms. Very long stems, beautiful shape, and a great vase life. A real work horse and a great arrangement flower. A must grow. Flower size of approx 10-14cm wide. Height 90 - 120 cm."
Flower bud opening:
Caitlins Joy Fully Flowering:
Caitlins Joy is a stunning raspberry red ball dahia, with long stems. This dahlia is bred for bouquets and vases, and it a super popular variety over the last few years, you have to get in quick to pick up a dahlia bulb when they go on sale in winter.
I'm so pleased to have Caitlins Joy in my garden, and get so many positive comments about her from our neighbours who see her in our front garden.
Have a wonderful day
Julie-Ann
Want to discuss my post? Feel free to chat with me on Instagram or Mastodon or Bluesky.
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