It’s finally time— here are the 2020 dahlia trial results!
Throughout the 2020 season I grew 17 varieties in my trial beds. Some were 2nd year trials, some were 1st. To be a second year trial means I wasn’t sure about it the first year, but it had enough good qualities to give it a second try.
I am evaluating dahlias for cut flower production so bear that in mind as you read. During the trials I test things like vase life, stem strength, and average bloom size. I also evaluate the growth habit of the plants- things like height, does the plant bloom in the leaf canopy or above it, strong stems or floppy, etc. You will see I recommend some varieties as “garden only”. This means it didn’t meet my standards for cut flower production. But note that any variety that meets the cut flower production standards will also work as a garden variety. I’ll have some of these varieties for sale in our tuber sale mid-winter, but it will mostly be the garden only varieties that I won’t be keeping for cut flower production. There is also a chart at the bottom that makes it easy to see all the qualities at once.
I tried a lot of yellow/gold varieties this year hoping to get some winners so let’s start there:
Lucky
This dahlia showed great promise at the beginning of the season. It bloomed a more copper/yellow during the hot temperatures and more golden like you see here in cooler weather. However, it only gets 2 days vase life so it’s a definite no for me. Would make a great garden dahlia though as it is reasonably prolific and the flowers stayed pretty nice looking on the plant for a decent amount of time before they needed to be deadheaded. Blooms were right at the top of the leaf canopy which is also a nice quality for garden dahlias.
Mary Jo
This is a multi- year trial. I started growing it years ago but yellow wasn’t popular then so I phased it out. I decided to bring it back this year. It’s color is great, very warm yellow with no neon qualities to it. It’s fairly large and unfortunately gets a bit top heavy for it’s stem sometimes. The stem strength is really it’s only issue. Good vase life, reasonably prolific for a large dahlia, good strong firm tubers too. To me, it’s almost like sunflower in dahlia form. I’ll keep it for awhile - at least until I find a variety with the same warm color and a stronger stem.
Sunkissed
Aptly named but not a keeper as a cut flower. This waterlily type gets great vase life but has poor form. It doesn’t have enough petals and therefore tends to open and show it’s center. It’s also a more neon yellow in color. Waterlily shapes like this make great garden dahlias so off it goes. Strong tuber maker- firm and prolific.
Moonstruck
Moonstruck is the top dahlia in the picture (Lucky is the copper one on the bottom). Great color- cream with a touch of yellow. It would be nice if it were a bit larger. But I’ll keep it for one more year- kind of a nice accent type dahlia. It threw a nice flush of blooms early in the season but haven’t seen much from it later on in season so I wouldn’t say it’s very prolific.
Gabrielle Marie
I originally grew this dahlia years ago in the search for a good peach bloom. It’s when I first began to realize that a lot of “peach” dahlias turn out orange or yellow in our hot climate. I acquired it this year as a freebie with my Swan Island order so I just decided to try it again. Now that yellow is becoming more popular, it’s a viable option. Definitely keeping it for a second year.
Andrew Charles
I was a bit disappointed when this first bloomed. The pictures I saw indicated a greater color depth with some variegation to it. Mine came out pretty solid gold. But the more I cut it, the more I began to like it. Good long stems, blooms well above the plant canopy and pushed a good number of stems per plant. It’ll get a second trial year for sure.
Karamel Korn
Beautiful variegated copper tones, laminated petals— this dahlia is just fun! Tall plant habit so you have to give it good support. Blooms very regular, best when cut tight like the picture here. Continues to open in the vase, good vase life 5+ days. Definite keeper but I wouldn’t grow loads of it because it’s more of an accent/specialty type- can be a bit of a scene stealer.
Tapioca
Cute name, great flower. Blooms cream in hot temps and more white as it cools. Nice plant habit, not super prolific but I’ll keep it for a second year trial. Nice bloom size that stayed steady throughout the season too.
Silver Years
Second year trial on this one. Only got one bloom last year b/c the plant ended up in an area that was overtaken by weeds. But second year is much better- beautiful blush color, great vase life, nice bloom shape and perfect size for wedding work. I’ll keep this one and probably start propagating it via tuber divisions and cuttings.
Innocence
This is probably one of my favorite finds this year- great color, nice bloom size, strong stem. I hope this one made a lot of tubers. It’s beautiful in the vase too- fades to more white as it ages. Definite keeper!
Chilson’s Pride
Great color and plant habit- not quite sure about the lacinated petals. I usually love those but they aren’t winning me over on this one. I know a lot of southern growers have this so I’ll probably give it a second year but not sold on it yet.
Foxy Lady
I wanted so badly to like this one but it just doesn’t hold up in the vase. It’s color is beautiful as it ages though- goes to a nice mauve. Definitely a garden variety.
Mingus Toni
Mingus Toni- well kinda. Mingus Toni is supposed to be dark pink with darker pink speckles. Instead this beauty bloomed. I quite like it- ages beautifully in the vase with a solid vase life. I won’t be sad if it blooms this way again next year.
Mr Jimmy
This one is more dark purple than the picture shows. Purples/Burgundies/Reds are impossible to photograph well. Second year trial here, still not sure. Good growth habit but vase life trials were a bit inconclusive- sometimes it would get 2 days, sometimes 4-5. I’m looking for some good medium sized purples but not sure if this is it.
Karma Naomi
I originally grew this variety as part of my winter dahlia trials last year. Well I must have missed some tubers when ripping them out. It was actually really interesting to observe it during the summer. Almost a different color- very plum in cold weather, very purple based burgundy in hot weather. Unfortunately it only got 2 days vase life in the summer, was better in cooler weather. Also this variety shows every blemish more than other dark dahlias. There are better dark dahlias out there.
Baron Katie
Second year trial here. Great bloomer, nice vase life but very bold color. Little bolder than I like. I’ll probably sell off these tubers, just not quite what I’m looking for but still a good quality dahlia.
Crazy Legs
Prolific bloomer and nice color but just not enough petals on the flower to have a nice form. Stems can be floppy sometimes too. Vase life is minimum 3 days, sometimes longer. There are lots of dahlias in this color combination so I’ll keep looking.
Mirella
Second year trial that I almost didn’t replant but I had some extra room. I’m glad I did- it’s growing on me. Petal habit can be a bit messy at times but I like the color combo. It’s yellow and orange without being too bold which is hard to find. I’ll keep it around for a while.
So overall who are my favorites? Innocence and Karamel Korn! Those two have the best plant habit, decent number of sellable stems, awesome color. I’ll propagate those via cuttings and tuber divisions this winter to get enough for production. I’ll continue evaluating some other varieties and I’ve got plans for a much larger trial next year.
Here’s the cheat sheet chart:
Dahlia Tuber Pre-Sale going on now- check it out!