Trial Patch 2026

We grow a trial patch every year with around 400 plants. That’s not 400 varieties. We usually grow anywhere from 1- 20 of a variety to see how they perform. The purpose of these trials is to find varieties that perform well in our hot Southern climate. Not every dahlia does- but more than you think will grow here well.

We then take the varieties that work well and incorporate them into our wholesale production over time. A variety usually grows in our trial patch for 3 years before moving to larger scale production. Some varieties take longer and occasionally I’ll move one to production after 2 years. But I like to see the variety grow through different weather patterns and 3 years gives enough information in that regard.

I usually begin with 1-3 plants of a variety and if it grows well the first year, we will multiply it out to 10-20 plants and see how it grows as a group. If the variety is good for our wholesale production, then we will multiply as much as possible on year 3 with the goal of having enough tubers/cuttings for large scale production year 4. If the variety is better for home garden growing, then we will multiply but not at the same scale as for wholesale production. I’m a lot stricter and pickier on varieties for wholesale than what I would put in a home garden.

So let’s take a look at a few varieties.

La Belle Epoque: This one did beautifully last year. It’s done reasonably well this year too even through all the heat. It’s growing slower and has only just begun to bloom from a late May planting. It was earlier last year but it was also cooler last year too. This one holds well on the plant. Making it an excellent garden variety. You can enjoy it in your garden for a long time before it gets trashed looking. I’m considering it for wholesale production but will probably wait until after year 3— need some more data on stem counts for it first.

Next up is Cheers. This one was great last year and was a variety so many of you commented on during the Dahlia Days tour. So much so that it convinced me to multiply it more than I usually would. In doing so, we realized it propagates well from cuttings. So we planted out and it grew well until the deer got to it. Then the heat came and took out 90% of the plants. So thankfully we still have a few but all that will probably set back it’s release for sale another year.

Cantaloupe- this variety never bloomed last year. This does happen sometimes on new varieties. However it’s blooming it’s head off this year- early too! It’s a cute waterlily. It does have the typical waterlily growth habit that I hate for wholesale production where it wants to bloom low on the stem in between two taller side buds. So it may get cut from wholesale production because of that. Definitely needs another year. But that growth habit that I hate does make for a great garden plant because it gives lots of blooms!

KA’s Aloha ® - This has a lot of things I look for in a wholesale production dahlia— great color, early bloomer, sturdy stem, good size. It’s first year for us so time will tell. But definitely moving to a second year.

Madeline- Me and my whole crew love the color and form on this one. The centers need to close up a bit so we will have to see how she does in high heat going forward. But this isn’t half bad with how hot it’s been recently. Definitely getting a third year trial.

The picture below shows a few other varieties: Some I still need to confirm ID’s which is why they have a question mark.

Overall our second year tests are fairing pretty well. Not much to say about the first years because we are still waiting a large percentage of them to bloom.