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The ADS has divided pink into what they call pink and dark pink. I wonder why they did that. And insult to injury, some of the nicest pink dahlias are classified as lavender. One my favorite pink dahlias is Chimacum Katie but the ADS calls it lavender.
We like to place a sign on our porch that says: We are in the garden. Really, we are always in the garden.
Chimacum Katie looks great. Ted, I am glad I am not alone in my confusion over lavendar vs. pink vs. dark pink vs purple with the ADS. Who can look at Chimacum Katie and say that's NOT pink??? It's hard to believe that lives in the same ADS category as Clearview David. The colors are SO different.
I've never grown a 'pink' dahlia. I'll be trying my first one this year with Hollyhill Big Pink. I'm also adding some new lavendars that could pass as pink.
Well, my Hilltop dahlia order arrived without Hollyhill Big Pink. Grrr!!! I had ordered a plant version of that, and they reported they had an unexpected frost in their shipping shed and lost a lot of stock. They provided a refund for that one; along with a tuber of Pink Jupiter. I'm not too familiar with it; and it some growers describe it as a 'challenge' to grow successfully. Anyone have any experience with it?
Pink Jupiter is one of the all time best show dahlias if you live in a cool climate like the Oregon coast. If you get it though the warm summer and it blooms in the cooler weather of September it may be really nice for you. However, the odds are against you. Rose Jupiter, another sport of Daleko Jupiter, seems to do better in the warmer weather, probably because it is a bigger flower.
We like to place a sign on our porch that says: We are in the garden. Really, we are always in the garden.
I wish there was some way to know which ones do better in the warmer climates so I wouldn't waste my time trying to grow something that will probably never do well here. So are you saying that bigger flowers do better in warmer weather?
It's mostly a matter of perception. A large flower blooms later in the season. By then the weather may be cooler. It should be noted that there are several traits that contribute to whether a variety does well in the heat:
in no particular order
Color: many dark pinks and reds fade in the hot sun. They are outstanding when blooming on cloudy days
Green Centers: Some varieties form green centers and double centers in hot weather
Substance: In hot weather the flower matures too quickly and looses depth and form. Same flower in cooler weather has excellent depth and substance.
Lack of growth in hot weather: many/most/ all? varieties do not grow when the night temperatures are too warm. I believe that dahlias can survive high heat if it cools off at night to 65 degrees or so. In areas where it stays 80 degrees at night most dahlias put on little growth and blooms are not very good. .
Height: I believe taller dahlias suffer more in high heat as they must pump water to a larger bush.
There are probably more factors than these.
We like to place a sign on our porch that says: We are in the garden. Really, we are always in the garden.
Thanks Ted, That info was very interesting to me. I just googled the average temperature for here and it looks like July is the hottest month with an average high of 91 and a low of 63. August is just a little cooler. Last year I grew several big dahlias and they all seemed to do really well until later in the fall when I did get some open centers. Last summer was a little cooler than average with only about 3 days that were 100 degrees. Hopefully we have another summer like that! I do water my dahlias a lot once the weather gets hot and they seemed to do just fine. Maybe it's because the night time temps are usually not too hot. I think I will try to plant my dark reds where they will get a little shade in the afternoon.
Took some photos today and couldn't help thinking of this thread. The peonies and poppies are starting to bloom in Minnesota. Great for us big flower lovers waiting for late summer. I applied my learning about dahlias; and pinched the side buds on some of my peonies the last couple of years. Just on a few of the stems. It's amazing how much bigger those blooms are.
There is a nice soft pink Dahlia being auctioned, but the cultivar name isn't one I can find elsewhere online, and the trader has had quite a bit of negative feedback, so I am not going to bid. What very soft pink Dahlias have done well for people?
There is a local supplier listing "Chilton's Pride", and it is pink. I wonder if it is really "Chilson's Pride", but it looks not quite pale enough, and lacks the slight fimbriations in the petal tips. If you have grown Chilson's Pride, I'd value your opinion on whether this pic could be it: http://www.dahliahaven.co.nz/cactus_03.html (top right).
Mary, Chilson's Pride varies from palest almost white pink to deep candy pink for me. Ted explained to us that the fimbriations only appear in hot weather. Most of my weather is not enough to bring them on but It is still a wonderful dahlia after all the years its been around. I have had the same stock since about 2000 when we moved to this house, or a few years before since I think I brought it with me. I thought I had lost it this year but it turned up labeled as something else in 6 different places, fortunately 4 of them were in my Pink Flower bed, where I thought i was putting a Hart's Sugar/ ,
Here are 3 different views of Chilson's Pride in my garden. When it hit 92 degrees there were a few fimbriations on just a few petals. FOr a more fimbriated pink I Like Gay Princess. Gay Princess
That is probably it at Dahlia Haven, then. It's often hard to know whether someone has made a typo, or whether there are similar names! I also wonder whether Coralie and Coralee are the same Dahlia, for instance.
Alfred Grille is an old time flower that can still look very good and it is a nice shade of pink. 
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Gay Princess