There are some lighter purple flowers out there that border on lavender. I personally like a darker purple. There are also some "maroon" purple flowers out there that barely make it into the purple class and they do not have enough of the blue pigment. I am not fond of them either. To be the proper color of purple in my mind you need a deep color with blue pigment and blue is what turns a red flower into a glorious purple. I like what could be said to be "Royal" purple. Thomas Edison is a lighter version of it and it has lots of blue pigment that makes it almost glow. Thomas Edison's color is almost unique by the way. I have never seen another dahlia in that exact shade of purple. Hollyhill Purely Purple is a good example of what I like in purple. So is Purple Joy and Formby Kaitlyn and the old timer Hillcrest Royal.
We like to place a sign on our porch that says: We are in the garden. Really, we are always in the garden.
I'm growing River's Pinwheel this year (seedling 011-River's Pinwheel), which Eugene Kenyon was gracious enough to share with me. I hope the purple blooms are as intense for me growing it here as it is for them!
honnat, I am right there with you on the purple and orange combination!
With a little red for the hummingbirds and white for the moon, purple and orange are all I want in my garden - of all flowers, not just dahlias!
And I think the last time I posted a request I used a big block of solid color to make my point, too. I just found your 2 threads and had to check to see that I hadn't started them myself....
Got a list of favorites? And/or any for sale or trade?
Name: Cynthia BG, KY USDA Zone 6b Sanity = Dirt under your nails...
We've been talking about purples we like, crittergarden. I think on another thread (I can't remember which one, now) honnat said that Chimacum Troy is better at the garden than some others, and several of us really like Sellwood Glory.
I am sorry that I can't remember more of the recent purple discussions, but I remember in the past that some really liked Hollyhill Purely Purple, too.
Of mine that are purple, I have to say that I'm in wholehearted agreement about Sellwood Glory. I also really like Vancouver, and Jesse G. I have Gonzo Grape, but it does not put out that many blooms, so I'm giving it one more year to try and then it will either change its ways or it's a goner, because although the size is good (I don't have that many miniature sized cultivars), I'm not wasting the space in the garden on a type that won't produce.
I also really liked Rip City (maybe a little more red than you're talking about) and Thomas Edison. They didn't put out scads of blooms either but they were planted a little later, and this is their first year here. What they both did put out in blooms were really great.
Also Hollyhill Spiderwoman - I don't know if she counts as purple in your estimation, but she's red/purple and white in my garden - was WONDERFUL. I had blooms on that plant that lasted and lasted and lasted and lasted. I am going to plant her closer to a window next year so I can see all that glory more easily. She's great in a vase with other flowers, and people never fail to comment on her, but she lasts SO LOOOOOONG on the plant that I didn't cut all of her (and that's unusual for me, because I LOVE to have flowers in vases in the house).
Optic Illusion was really interesting but not overly floriferous as it got hit by spidermites badly and quit producing.
I liked Kyli-Bug, but she was planted really late so I can't comment on floriferousness of her because she's only had time to grow about 2' tall and give me one flower so far.
Jammin' Jelly was okay, but not one that reaches out and grabs a person.
Taboo didn't do much for me this year.
I wish I liked Atropurpurea more, but it didn't bloom very much and when it did bloom, it was a bit boring in my garden. It gets another year to try and impress, because I do really like the foliage, but if it doesn't do more it's out so I can try something more interesting.
That's my list of purples. What did you particularly like in your garden, crittergarden?
C DG
All gardening is landscape painting.
- William Kent
Night Train B SC PR is a decent purple, unfortunately that was in the row the groundhogs eliminated this year. Robann Royal MB L is darker for me than what I' d call lavender--and a good producer. Thomas A Edison does exhibit excellent color on a not so excellent flower.
It appears that people are looking for purple flowers. Seedling 12-21 did quite well and seems to produce lots of tubers.
It is BB sized at about 4.5 inches in diameter and grows a full 5 feet all. It had blooms on it all summer and as I write this, it is still blooming. Picture taken 10-10-13
We like to place a sign on our porch that says: We are in the garden. Really, we are always in the garden.
I've got two plants of it, and both are laden down with blooms. Just incredible! They were sparser late August when they started blooming, but NWW are going to town now!
A surprise NoID from Cowlitz ended up being a late-blooming Urchin... NWW is so fun in bouquets that I really should play with Urchin blooms before frost.
Yes, please compare it to HH Renoir. That was one of my top favorites this year and the only way to beat that would be more of them, and a bigger healthier bush. Totally love the color intensity of HH Renoir! I've enjoyed all your purples I got, HH Purely Purple, HH Regal, and HH Joy, as well as the Spiderwoman. All are still putzing along looking wonderful. I'm hoping I can gt HH Lavender Blu this year. My other best purple has been Camano Concord.
OH yes, I like Diva and Fremont's Memory too, though FM is more red purple. Diva's been my standard since I first grew it but it doesn't come on heavily until about late September. THe Hollyhill Purples have been blooming most of the summer. I am going to ditch both Gonzo Grape and Newaukum Grape for having weak stems and funky foliage. The flowers are really intense purples but they hardly ever survive to get to market And as Cyn said, not many blooms on them. I liked Clearview Erin but few flowers this year. I'll give her another year and a bit more space to herself.
Name: Phyllis Stengl Sequim, WA Deer are beautiful if they don't e
Hey, don't forget my favorite new one from this year: AC White Rabbit. It was one of the first to bloom and until I cut it down in October, there were seldom less that 5 blooms in some stage. A co-worker said it came straight from a Dr Seuss book (and he wants one.)
When I dug up Clearview Erin it was apparent why I didn't have many flowers off her..no new tubers and the origonal was hollow. Looks like I was lucky to get even a few blooms. Did anyone else have better luck and did you find new tubers when you dug it up?
I was pleasantly surprised to find a few tubers under clearview Erin. I haven't divided it yet; but I remember thinking that it was more productive than I remembered it being before. Two years ago, I managed to get one really scrawny tuber that didn't sprout in the spring. I re-ordered it this year and got a tuber that looked similar to the one that didn't sprout for me. I was a little nervous since I didn't pot it up to give it a head start and we had a cool wet spring. It grew up to 5 feet, had a nice (late) flush of blooms and produced some tubers. It is one that I would be willing to buy year after year even if it didnt produce.
I'm thinking about it. The color was really out of this world gorgeous... But 2 flowers in a summer doesn't really earn it a place in my garden...maybe up near the house somewhere....
I contacted River's Dahlias and found out that "Purple Pinwheel" will not be offered for 2013. They also informed it is already their most requested dahlia. The photos floating out there seem to show it to be as close to a true purple as you can get with a dahlia. The seedling bench results describe the color as a PR34. If you look at the swatches Ted put up on the HH website, you'll see that is a very nice shade of purple.
I believe Kim is growing some stock. anyone else seen it in person?
I am thrilled to have 3 potential tubers of Clearview Erin. after cleaning everything up a bit. THey were farther down on the mother tuber that rotted.They are a bit funky looking but seem to have a potential growth eye on each. Not too shabby for the core having rotted out of the mother tuber!
It was one of the first to bloom and until I cut it down in October, there were seldom less that 5 blooms in some stage. A co-worker said it came straight from a Dr Seuss book (and he wants one.)
