Monday, August 04, 2008

Dahlia ‘Kenora Firefighter’



Dahlia ‘Kenora Firefighter’

Another red Dahlia for Ruby Tuesday. This one is a good looking Medium Decorative Dahlia from the great family of Kenora cultivars. Developed by Gordon Leroux Dahlias of Everett, Washington the Kenora Dahlias (named after his hometown in Canada) are some of the best I have grown. ‘Kenora Macop’ has always been great in the garden and would always have a spot in any of my gardens.



I read that this Dahlia was named after some of the fallen 9/11 firefighters and also that it was named after all American firefighters so I am not sure which it is. Either way the fire red color fits. It is a beautiful flower and aptly heat tolerant.

How is this for a huge red flower? This is a great plant for our area gardens as it adds a bit of tropical flavor in a hardy package. This is a Swamp Mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos 'Lord Baltimore') and is also known as Hardy Hibiscus or Rose Mallow. I love growing these and prefer the larger flowered cultivars like ‘Lord Baltimore’. The only bad thing is the Japanese Beetles love them so occasionally you will see plants with no leaves blooming with these giant flowers.


For more Ruby Tuesday visit the teach @
Work of the Poet

7 comments:

Jientje said...

Those are very nice! Dahlia's are in season now I think, that's the second one I came across on this Ruby!
But I love yours, they're great!

maryt/theteach said...

Digital, the perfect Dahlia and if it was named for the firefighters of 911 that's wonderful! But you've taken an excellent shot. I've never seen that Hardy Hibiscus, it's amazing! Happy Ruby Tuesday!

Minkydo said...

Such pretty flowers! Thank you for sharing them.

Dianne said...

I thought the WW photo up top was for Ruby Tuesday. All those amazing red veins running through that sweet green color.

Then the Dahlias! Oh My!

One beautiful shot after another.

Ralph said...

Lovely flowers. I like the composition, where the flower is dominant and the blurred background doesn't let anything else compete for the attention of each Dahlia.

Dahlias demand attention!

Anonymous said...

I've never seen (or heard of) that hibiscus, either. Thanks for the introduction. And your dahlia shots are stunning. Lovely for Ruby Tuesday.

gorjean said...

As Gordon Leroux's wife the name of Kenora Firefighter started because my niece's Kenora Tonya dahlia did not do as well as the other niece's Kenora Lisa did. Gordie decided to name one after her husband, Darrell. As a firefighter he love the red formal decorative dahlia but asked that it be named Kenora Firefighter for the 9/11 fallen heroes and for all of the firefighters who risk life and limb to keep us and our property safe. So, you can see it was named for both reasons. With Gordie's 2007 death due to complications of Parkinson's disease, there are only about 15 or 20 not introduced Kenora seedlings that are being tended and put on the market by Teresa Bergman of Cowlitz Rive Dahlias. When she got his tubers, they were not named correctly because of his failing health, so she has worked hard to get them sorted out and is growing enough stock to get them to market. This is a long process but one she is doing out of love and respect for us.