Name: Jon George Gainesville, FL ...crazy enough to grow dahlias in
Bernando had a huge bloom early in the summer but the plant was so squat that I don't feel like it will make a good cut flower. How is yours growing, Noni?
"What is a weed?" asked Peppa Pig. "A weed is a cheeky plant growing in the wrong place!" replied Grandpa Pig.
Bennie, I had not even thought about it...I don't think it is growing out there but I will have to check...Not sure where I put it! Yes, it is short and would look great in a big raised pot, I liked the bloom a lot last year.
I haven't grown a lot of red & white flowers but the few I did were great. Skipley Spot, Ms. Julie, Rejman's Polish Kid. After a few years of not growing it I bought a tuber of Rejman's Polish Kid last year and ended up giving the plant to my girlfriend at the time and she really liked it.
So I'm guessing HH Court Jester no longer exists? It was a poor grower in the garden and a poor tuber maker too. Dan Pearson of Dan's Dahlias tried to increase stock for several years unsuccessfully.
We stopped growing it after a couple of years of poor results. It was a very pretty flower.
Rejman's Polish Kid is the best R/W show flower but is not a very tall grower for us and we stopped growing it. Skipley Spot may be even a better show flower but is really bad in the tuber department, notoriously bad. Red and white is a very popular color combination and we have a 2017 seedling and 2018 seedling that may be good(seedlings are known to disappoint).
We like to place a sign on our porch that says: We are in the garden. Really, we are always in the garden.
Name: Steve San Diego Commercial cut flower grower
Does anyone have a recommendation for a red/white bicolor where the white doesn't burn in the heat and the bloom/plant would make a good cut flower. Form and tuber-keeping-ability are not important attributes for my purposes although I do appreciate show form as a bonus.
I have no recommendations for cut flower red and white beyond good stock of Duet and maybe the Swan Island Checkers. The two R/W bicolor seedlings in our seedling pipeline are nice specimen flowers but have not demonstrated to be really good cut flower production types. The Meggos R/W flower that I gush over is a "B" sized flower and was not all that productive but then again I only grew it the one year. . Santa Claus good stock is OK. Hollyhill Jester has some red and white flowers that would sell well and it's sales point is that the solid red flowers are good cut flowers too and it makes lots of tubers.
We like to place a sign on our porch that says: We are in the garden. Really, we are always in the garden.
Irish Blackhart and Prairie Rose were both good cut flowers for me last year, and neither burned in the Midwest heat/sun. Santa Claus is also a good one, but the stems never seem to be as sturdy as I want them to be.
Irish Blackhart bloomed heavily here in NorCal with our high heat. I never saw any burning. It is probably the most productive dahlia I've had in several years. I can't say much about the stems as it is an attribute I don't pay much attention to.
Name: Steve San Diego Commercial cut flower grower
teddahlia wrote:I have no recommendations for cut flower red and white beyond good stock of Duet and maybe the Swan Island Checkers. The two R/W bicolor seedlings in our seedling pipeline are nice specimen flowers but have not demonstrated to be really good cut flower production types. The Meggos R/W flower that I gush over is a "B" sized flower and was not all that productive but then again I only grew it the one year. . Santa Claus good stock is OK. Hollyhill Jester has some red and white flowers that would sell well and it's sales point is that the solid red flowers are good cut flowers too and it makes lots of tubers.
Thanks, while scanning my memory for R/W dahlias I have grown in the past, I completely forgot about Checkers. I just now ordered a few tubers to trial. I look forward to growing HH Jester, it reminds me some of "Sandia Belle", one of my favorite bi-color dahlias. Unfortunately, Sandy Boley says the stock broke down years ago and they no longer carry it. And it doesn't seem to be available anywhere else.
Name: Steve San Diego Commercial cut flower grower
melissamaeday wrote:Irish Blackhart and Prairie Rose were both good cut flowers for me last year, and neither burned in the Midwest heat/sun. Santa Claus is also a good one, but the stems never seem to be as sturdy as I want them to be.
Thanks Melissa, I have ordered a few tubers of Irish Blackhart to trial and I will check out Prairie Rose.
Name: Steve San Diego Commercial cut flower grower
sylviap wrote:Irish Blackhart bloomed heavily here in NorCal with our high heat. I never saw any burning. It is probably the most productive dahlia I've had in several years. I can't say much about the stems as it is an attribute I don't pay much attention to.
Thanks Sylvia, that is encouraging. Are you able to grow dahlias in direct sun in Sacramento or do you use shade cloth?
They are in the direct sun and they seem to love it. I neglected to say that the blooms are not always uniform - some are more red or white than others.
Some of the bicolors are the rarest colors in dahlias. Yellow and white bicolor is very rare and the rarest is probably pink and white. All of the yellow and white bicolor seedlings that we have grown over the years were not vigorous enough to keep even if we tried. You just never see pink and white bicolor seedlings. And another interesting fact about bicolors is that if a solid sports to a bicolor it seldom is bicolor the second year. It seems to be a temporary sport.
Popcorn was one of my favorite yellow and white bicolors. You do not see it around much anymore and I do not believe it ever left the PNW .
We like to place a sign on our porch that says: We are in the garden. Really, we are always in the garden.
