Bee's Choice Dahlias

Last year, because all of my varieties of single and collarette Dahlias flowered well, I saved seeds to see what sort of new crosses the bees had created.  Usually, I grow Dahlias from tubers so you are guaranteed an exact copy of the same traits year after year.  When grown from seed, you get new traits based on what different pollen the bees (or the breeder) are bringing to the mother plant.  This is how new varieties of Dahlias are created.  You can choose the parentage, or you can just let the bees choose.  I grew out a dozen plants from my seeds, and they have been opening for the past few weeks.  Not all of the plants have flowered, but I have some fun new blooms to report.

The first one is one that I call Summer Lovin'.   It is a large single bloom and the plant blooms better than average, putting out three or four blooms simultaneously.  Some of the petals are tipped with white.  The blooms actually look a little frumpy to me.  Sort of like someone wearing baggy, unironed clothes.  But there are a lot of them so they are a happy, bright spot in the garden.

I think this is a cross between Wishes n' Dreams and the large, showy Junkyard Dog.  It is larger than Wishes and the size and number of blooms both remind me of Junkyard.  Plus the occasional white tips.

Wishes 'n Dreams   x   Junkyard Dog 

Then there are three that remind me of Cosmos flowers.  The white one is actually pale pink and fades to white.  The medium pink one has double rows of petals.  The stems are dark, but the leaves are green.

    

Its just about anyone's guess what the parents are.  The dark stems and compact height say Wishes to me, and the dark color and double petals suggest maybe Hootenany.  Because they remind me of Cosmos flowers I call them Cosmic Red, Cosmic Pink and Cosmic White.

Wishes 'n Dreams     x    Hootenany

Then we have a very tall, leggy one that is pale yellow with some shading.  While it is a single, the color and height is like Apple Blossom.  I have just about had it with Apple Blossom.  They are beautiful blooms if insects don't ruin them before they open.  And insects just love pale yellow so they have ruined every bloom this year either in bud stage or as soon as it blooms.  I won't keep this one and I am not keeping Apple Blossom anymore.

 

Again, the stems are dark like Wishes n' Dreams, so that is probably the other parent.

Wishes 'n Dreams and Apple Blossom

        

Now this is an Apple Blossom child that is a winner!  The bloom is large and flat.  The petals are pointed.  The stems are dark and the plant is short. But the color and collarette form is close to Apple Blossom with added deep pink streaks.   The insects are leaving this one alone.  

Probably a cross between  Apple Blossom and Junkyard Dog.  I call it Afternoon Delight and it is a keeper.  My favorite in fact.

Apple Blossom and Junkyard Dog

And lastly I have one that might be a Cherubino self pollinated.  It appears to be an exact copy.   Except - note the "forked" tips on the petals.   It is very tall but is blooming better than Cherubino does.  I think I will keep this one as a replacement.

Cherubino Lookalike

I still have three or four plants that have not bloomed.  Hopefully, they will be something completely different.  I still do not have any that I think could be a product of my favorite dark foliaged and orange petaled HS First Date, but one that is budding up looks promising. This year I am going to save some seeds from my Ball and Informal Decorative varieties and see if I get anything interesting from those.