Dahlia Trials- Year 2 (2020 test varieties revisted)

Last year I trialed a small selection of dahlias and posted about my results here. I’d recommend jumping back and reading that before you continue. I wanted to post an update on the varieties that I decided to give a second year.

First up- the varieties I didn’t keep: Lucky, Sunkissed, Silver Years, Foxy Lady, Karma Naomi, Crazy Legs, Mirella, Mr Jimmy, Baron Katie. For the most part, I think the reasons I chose not to keep them is listed in the original post.

Next - who I kept: Mary Jo, Moonstruck, Gabrielle Marie, Andrew Charles, Karamel Korn, Tapioca, Innocence, Chilson’s Pride, Mingus Toni. Out of these, Innocence rotted during the pre-sprout phase and all but one of my Moonstuck rotted after planting. I do plan to reacquire Innocence because other than the tuber issue— it was one of my top 2 choices last year.

Thoughts on the others: unfortunately I haven’t seen Karamel Korn yet this year. I have a bad feeling it has rotted. I’ll need to check up on it. My one remaining Moonstruck has ceased to wow me. Poor growth, tiny blooms, won’t be keeping for a third year.

Mary Jo is growing and blooming well. But there is still the issue of the heavy head/weak stem. Need to find a replacement.

Mary Jo

Gabrielle Marie just threw it’s first bloom this week- that’s kinda late. Also with all the other peachy/yellow dahlias I’ve tried this year- it’s probably getting the boot. There are other earlier and more productive varieties.
Tapioca and Andrew Charles are both doing well. Tapioca is proving to be a good basic dahlia. I’ll admit, it’s not really the most special but it’s a good size, neutral color and decent producer. Andrew Charles shines a bit more as the weather cools and the color is very fallish so it will probably stay another year.

Tapioca

Chilson’s Pride- I really want to like this one. It’s blush, has lascinated petals (which I love) but the growth habit is weak and the stems seem to be floppy. If you grow this one and love it— convince me I should keep it.

Mingus Toni has convinced me- this is actually a third year test. I wouldn’t ever grow loads of a flecked dahlia. To me, a little goes a long way with these types but I just smile every time I see her. Combine that with decent productivity and great growth habit and yeah— I’ll keep it.

So why do I test multiple years? Because I’ve learned that it often takes 3 years to learn a varieties intricacies. And often I variety can do poorly it’s first year but have a particular aspect that makes it worth giving a second or third try. However, sometimes I will axe a variety on the first year b/c I know there are similar varieties out there and that I have a high likelihood of finding a better replacement. One of the benefits of growing dahlias is that there are 1000’s of varieties so usually more than one good variety of a particular color and bloom type.

Check back in November for the results of this year’s trials.

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