Forty-two Dazzling Dahlias: 17 Canadian + all named
The 42 dahlia varieties in this presentation have roots in six nations including Canada. It can lay claim to 17 of these dahlias, 10 of which originated here in Nova Scotia. Together they constitute a small sample of the varieties grown for display by the Halifax Public Gardens in 2017.
The Canadian component of this selection represents the work of seven dahlia breeders: four in Nova Scotia, two in British Columbia and one in Alberta.
The Nova Scotia varieties include the Cobequid dahlias of Carol Dexter, Great Village, (Cobequid William and Cobequid Daphne); the Tribune’s dahlias of the late Joe LaPierre, Herring Cove (Tribune’s City of Dartmouth, Tribune’s City of Halifax, Tribune’s Heather Orava, Tribune’s Janet E. Gray, Tribune’s Mary Moriarty and Tribune’s Mont-Blanc), Glenmont Regan, by the late David M. Steele, West Glenmont, and Sylvia J. by the late Ed Alley, Berwick.
From British Columbia come the Ferncliff dahlias of David Jack, Ferncliff Gardens in Mission (Ferncliff Copper, Ferncliff Dancer, Ferncliff Duo, Ferncliff Illusion and Ferncliff Purity) and Hy Suntan by Wayne Holland in Squamish. Echo Emmitt, another Canadian entry, was produced by well-known Alberta dahlia breeder, Lorne McArthur, Red Deer.
Diligent Americans developed 15 of the cultivars shown: Alpen Diamond, Audrey Grace, Blended Beauty, Bride To Be, Frizzy Lizzy, Hollyhill Black Widow, Papa’s Benji, Parkland Rave, Pooh, Pride of Place, Sandia Shomei, Snoho Sonia, Stillwater Carnival, Verrone’s Taylor Swift, and Zorro.
The remaining 10 varieties originated with dedicated dahlia raisers in Oceana and Europe: Alloway Candy and Oreti Candy, New Zealand; Devon Holly, Kelgai Ann, and Pam Howden, Australia; Ivanetti and Sorbet, the Netherlands, and Urchin, Rothesay Revellor and Robin Hood, the U.K.
Impressive as any dahlia display may be for its cultivar assortment, it is destined to pale in relation to the avalanche available. There are now more than 61,000 dahlia varieties, most, if not all, traceable to two or three species brought to Spain from Mexico and Guatemala in 1789.
Native to Mexico, the dahlia became its official flower in 1963. When the Spaniards arrived, they found the plant prized more for food than beauty; its tubers were a staple of the Aztec diet. As a delicacy it failed to travel, but as a flower, its varied and arresting appearance has taken it nearly everywhere.
‘Can these different looking flowers all be dahlias?’ you might ask. ‘Yes!’ is the answer. The dahlia’s astounding shape-shifting capacity resides in its chromosomes. Most garden dahlias have eight sets, while most other plants have two. More precisely, dahlias are octoploids with eight sets of homologous chomosomes. As well, the dahlia has DNA sequences sometimes called jumping genes that can move within the plant’s genome. These genetic features, which confer huge diversity potential, have captivated plant breeders and growers alike and account for the explosion of varieties, shapes and sizes. From miniature to dinner plate, and in 15 international classifications, ranging from single flower to collarette, pompon to water lily, anemone to cactus and semi-cactus, double orchid to ball, star to stellar, decorative to fimbriated, and even miscellaneous, the possibilities of this amazing flower still seem far from exhausted.
Made With Boinx FotoMagico
Photos by Elizabeth Chambers
Music Credits: “As I Figure” by Kevin MacLeod
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution License
Dahlias at Ferncliff Gardens
This is a show garden tour of Ferncliff Gardens, in Mission BC, just a few minutes away from my own farm. Ferncliff specializes in Dahlias and Peonies - and is now in its 99th year! I took this video on the opening day of their 2019 show garden season, running from mid-August to mid-September. Thanks to David and Sheila Jacks for permission to take video, and, of course, for their ongoing contributions to plant diversity. Ferncliff is an inspiration for anyone trying to establish a specialty horticulture business or backyard nursery.
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