‘Seduction,’ the most profuse of the five Dahlias I grew this past summer.
‘Wynn’s Desert Sunrise,’ hands down my favourite of the five. Huge blooms, a thick and sturdy stalk that held up to high winds without staking, and the ability to withstand the hordes of earwigs who sought shelter amongst its petals.
‘Santa Claus,’ the first to bloom, but in the end my least favourite, mainly because as the summer turned into fall the flowers lost most of their red tinges, becoming an anemic whitish colour all over.
‘Just Peachy,’ the shortest of the quintuplets. Colour wise, quite lovely, but not that long lasting a flower when cut and brought inside.
‘Cafe au Lait.’ Sadly, although three sturdy stalks grew more than a metre and had lush foliage, this is as close as it came to flowering.
Your bud brought St. Patrick’s day to mind — it’s just that kind of green. I like the magenta and orange combination of the last — it reminds me of Central American color combinations — but the Wynn’s Desert Sunrise is my favorite.
I’m hoping the tubers will survive the winter in my basement….I’m curious to see if there would be more stalks, thicker stalks, from a huge multi-tuber as opposed to the very small single tuber I started with this year.
Dahlias are worth the effort we go through in our northern gardens, yours are lovely. Sorry about your CAL not performing. I know of a couple gardeners who start their tubers inside in April, but I’ve yet to try that. It is one more step in a very busy season!
I grew dahlias years and years ago before ‘pausing’ and back then I started them inside. Like some annuals; however (hello Zinnias!), I find come late July/ August plants started indoors are no bigger, and sometimes less robust, than those sown directly at the end of May…but yes, definitely worth the effort!
County Gardening 
I think Wynn’s Desert Sunrise would be my favorite, too. Great color!
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It’s s colour, I found, that I didn’t get tired of. Understated yet impressive.
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Your bud brought St. Patrick’s day to mind — it’s just that kind of green. I like the magenta and orange combination of the last — it reminds me of Central American color combinations — but the Wynn’s Desert Sunrise is my favorite.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m hoping the tubers will survive the winter in my basement….I’m curious to see if there would be more stalks, thicker stalks, from a huge multi-tuber as opposed to the very small single tuber I started with this year.
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What? You don’t set those tubers a place at the table and tuck them in at night?
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😆😆😆
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Gorgeous!!
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😊
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Dahlias are worth the effort we go through in our northern gardens, yours are lovely. Sorry about your CAL not performing. I know of a couple gardeners who start their tubers inside in April, but I’ve yet to try that. It is one more step in a very busy season!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I grew dahlias years and years ago before ‘pausing’ and back then I started them inside. Like some annuals; however (hello Zinnias!), I find come late July/ August plants started indoors are no bigger, and sometimes less robust, than those sown directly at the end of May…but yes, definitely worth the effort!
LikeLiked by 1 person