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So I think I'm done with my purchasing for the year; but something is bugging me. I have a couple of new oranges that I'm excited to try; and would love to see them next to a deep purple. True purple - like the "Purple Joy" that I can't find anywhere or like Thomas Edison that doesn't have the greatest form (in my opinion).
What other dahlias do you grow that reliably have that nice deep purple color. I noticed Ivanetti at Dan's site has the color I'm talking about http://www.dansdahlias.com/product_details.php?item_id=168
But somtimes it also looks like this: http://lobaughsdahlias.com/catalog/view/Ivanetti with more of a pink/red that I'm not looking for.
Any ideas?
You might want to look at these Diva, Formby Kaitlyn, Hollyhill Joy (only Hollyhill has it and they're out of stock), AC Charlotte, Camano Concord, Clearview Erin. Although it seems like the shades of purple vary between each picture of the blooms. Hollyhill Joy would probably be the closest to what you're looking for, but Diva might also work.
Nadine Jessie, Boogie Nights, and Taboo also look like a pretty deep purple. I grew Purplicious and it's quite a bright bloom but a very striking purple tone.
On second thought Purplicious isn't anywhere near what you were looking for.
Thanks! I am already planning on Formby Kaitlyn for 2012. I understand that it can be pretty late - so I ordered it from CG because they do plants. Maybe the extra early start they give it will help with my short MN growing season. Diva and Boogie Nites look nice.
I'm also thinking about Hollyhill Purely Purple. That was on the head table at a MN show this year and looked great.
Ooooo.. Hilltop Ivan might be the answer! I already have an order with CG so I wouldn't have to pay extra shipping. And I wanted to add another ball. Why didn't I notice that????
Name: Phyllis Stengl Sequim, WA Deer are beautiful if they don't e
I googled Hilltop Ivan before noticing Todgor's link. The color didn't look the same as the Corralitos link. Could be a difference of where the variety is raised. Sharky is a bi-color and is hearty, colorful, and puts out lots of tubers. Jennifer's Wedding is also a very nice purple (there she goes with lascinated dahlias again!)
I found Hilltop Ivan to be even more purple that the pic, but its hard to capture that color. I ended up shooting it in a mode that looks darker just to get it more correct.
A tip from the Iris cubit on photographing purples (that I have yet to try) is to have both camera and flower in shade, but to have a bright area somewhere in the background. Apart from that, they say Canon cameras are not too bad with purples. Threads on that can be found starting at http://cubits.org/irisforum/thread/view/65802/
Yes, but if the growers and sellers used them, and the charts were on display on the ADS website with a disclaimer about colours looking different on different screens, you could compare the colours of Dahlias for sale with those of Dahlias you are familiar with - you could figure out that it Dahlia A (for sale) was a bit darker and a bit redder than Dahlia B (in your garden already), because their listed colours were both on vendors information, for exapmple. I think with Dahlias, vendors would need to list a range of colours, because they change a bit through the season, but it would still be helpful.
$60 is expensive. ADS is generally reasonable with prices; so I'm not sure why the price is so high for that.
I have used the color guide in a round about sort of way. The ADS handbook has color numbers next to some of the entries. For example - Formby Kaitlyn is a P26. So if I know that Formby Katilyn is the type of purple I'm trying to get - I can just look for others with P26 (like Hilltop Ivan). It looks like the color gets darker as the number increases. So a dahlia like Hollyhill purely purple (P29) or "Jessie G" is the answer?
The real issue is that dahlias do vary according to temps, sunlight and other factors. So then one needs to find a dahlia that looks like the color you want in all the photos online......
Can't wait until I can stop looking at online photos and go outside to see a purple dahlia!!
Name: Phyllis Stengl Sequim, WA Deer are beautiful if they don't e
Me too! I don't expect to even be able to plant until May, and last year the first of May turned into about the 3rd week. But it's wonderful having Mary here with us, reminding us of summer.
I like the idea of how you use the color guide! I may try that.
And thank you Phyllis. A lot of people don't think we're having much of a summer, with so much rain until the last couple of days, but it has been pretty good from a gardening point of view.
How interesting to have a forum on purple dahlias. Our Hollyhill Purple got it's name because we thought it was a nice deep purple. In order to get a really nice purple dahlia, it has to have some blue in the pigment. If it has very little blue, it becomes what I call a "maroon" purple. There are lots of these maroon purples out there. Purely Purple is a seedling of Barbarry Bluebird and it is the same color as Purely Purple. The color charts were put together many years ago and the color names need to be redone. Certainly the chips are all the same color from chart to chart but some of the names of the colors are wrong. I wish that a person trained in the scientific method would conduct a study by showing the individual color chips to unbiased people and ask them them to identify the color. The results would be more representative of our modern definitions of color.
We like to place a sign on our porch that says: We are in the garden. Really, we are always in the garden.
