These beautiful, glowy pink dahlias are two of our very favorite varieties here at the farm. Chilson’s Pride was the first dahlia I ever grew. It was given to me in 2009 by a friend here in WA, right after Steve and I moved to the PNW from the southeast U.S. Sweet Ms. Dorothy came over and walked me through planting it, as I was a complete dahlia novice, and mentored me through my first few years of growing dahlias.

Chilson’s Pride will always have a spot in our garden, not just because I’m 100% nostalgic about it, but also because it is so sweet and lovely! Alloway Candy was new to our collection in 2021, and this is the first year we’ve had enough to share. Both dahlias have similar coloring and size, but different plant habits and bloom forms. 

Alloway Candy is shorter than Chilson’s Pride, but it throws loads of blooms with strong, useable stems, and both these varieties are similarly and highly productive. The stellar form of Alloway Candy gives it a really graceful style, but Chilson’s Pride’s fluffy, informal decorative-form has an entrancing beauty all its own.

Steve and I have curated the 700+ 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. I hope you’re enjoying this Variety Comparison series, and would love to know which of these pink beauties is your favorite!