Monday, January 04, 2010

Stellar Class Dahlia


Stellar Dahlia
Dahlia 'Alloway Candy'
(DAHL-ya)

This is a new Dahlia classification for me. I hadn’t heard of Stellar Dahlias before and here is, from the Connecticut Dahlia Society’s
Form, Sizes and Colors page, the description of the Stellar Class:

“Stellar - Petals break gradually from immature petals to fully developed outer ray florets. The outer petals should be narrow and involute with a slight recurve to the stem. The less mature petals should possess the same narrow and partially involute characteristic. The depth should be 1/2 to 2/3 the diameter of the bloom, with greater depth being ideal.”

‘Alloway Candy’ must have met the criteria but I am not sure. I am sure that it was a beautifully radiant cultivar that was pleasing to the eye. The flowers were at least 5 to 6 inches across and the color had some interesting shading. The whole plant was about 4 feet tall, which is plenty manageable in the Dahlia garden.

As a bonus here is another Dahlia called ‘Magic Moment’. It was a nice white and I liked the way it was growing in the Golden Threadleaf Cypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Filifera Aurea'). That plant is actually not a true Cypress but that is a discussion for another day. ‘Magic Moment’ is a Semi-cactus type of Dahlia that can grow up to 6 feet tall. It was introduced in 1983 and ‘Alloway Candy’ was registered in 1970.

4 comments:

Janet, The Queen of Seaford said...

The first Dahlia just glows. Really pretty. I am not familiar with all the varieties of Dahlias...just like how many different colors and sizes there are.
How big does that Threadleaf Cypress get? Didn't realize how large Goldmop gets.

Digital Flower Pictures said...

If you are classifying them there are 15 different colors and 9 different sizes. It is hard to narrow it down since there are almost 50,000 cultivars.

The Gold Cypress can get pretty big if left alone but it is easy to get dwarf types or even miniature ones. By pruning I have been able to keep them down to about 5 feet over 20 years.

Anonymous said...

gorgeous, Nature is so scandalous

Charlotte said...

Absolutely wonderful photographs - thank you.