We’ve been growing dahlias for 12 beautiful seasons here at the farm, and slowly over the years, our collection has grown immensely. Steve and I have curated the 700-ish named varieties we’re growing in 2023 in our fields so that it’s not only gorgeous, but also so we can have incredible genetic diversity here. We have loads varieties available to compare blooms side by side for height, and vigor, and to observe how they change throughout the season, and to observe the different hybridizers’ traits and preferences.
These two beautiful dahlias, one from Santa Cruz Dahlias and another by David and Leone Smith (hybridizers of the Chimacum and Valley series of dahlias from the Tacoma, Washington area) are fairly similar, but but they have some clear differences.
KAâs Keltie Rose is a softer, rosier color than the gloriously glowing coral Chimacum Nadjae its paired with in this video. KAâs Keltie Rose has a bit more vigorous branching habit and reliably stronger stems than the slightly taller Chimacum Nadjae plants here at our PNW farm. Both dahlias are very productive, and keep throwing nice, super strong stems when harvested regularly. (Remember with dahlias, the more you cut, the more they bloom!)
What other differences/similarities do you see in these two? ???? Do you like them paired together? We do!
