These two beautiful dahlias could be mistaken for each other on their own, but side by side, it’s easy to tell Scaur Swinton and Sylvia Craig Hunter apart. Let’s compare these beautiful dahlias!
Both of them give 6″+ flowers, and both are classified as formal decorative blooms. They both have coral-color flowers, and both grow around 48″ tall. Alongside each other, it’s easy to see that Scaur Swinton (hybridized in 1998 in the U.K.) is on the pink end of the coral family, and Sylvia Craig Hunter (hybridized 5 years later in Australia) is on the orange end of the coral color family spectrum. Interestingly, the American Dahlia Society classifies Scaur Swinton as Dark Pink, and Sylvia Craig Hunter as orange, and does not have a specific descriptor for “coral” or any of the multitude of shades in between pink and orange.]
For us, Sylvia Craig Hunter usually grows a little taller than Scaur Swinton, but both grow beautiful stems that are strong and perfect for cutting. Both have a very high petal count, are known for being amazing seed parents, produce plenty of tubers, and are fabulous in the garden and in larger-scale floral design work thanks to their bloom size. We wouldn’t want to be without either in our flower fields! What other differences/similarities do you see in these two? ????
