On 9/12/04 16:04, in article ,
"Pam Moore" wrote:

I was lucky enough to have a few hours at Abbotsbury gardens last
weekend.
Just by the exit from the shop to the gardens is a tall (at least 8ft)
dahlia in bloom. Large white flowers, lots of buds. Enquiry told us
dahlia imperialis. (Why do the things you really want to know the name
of have no labels?!)
My friend looked it up in the Plantfinder. A certain Hillhouse
Nursery lists it!
Do you sell seeds, Sacha?

No. But we do have young plants from time to time and I'll be happy to send
you one next year as long as you remind me. As Bob says, it's doubtful it
will flower outdoors. Ours does flower in the largest of our glasshouses
but not out in the garden. To be frank, the flower is quite dull, it's the
height the plant can achieve which makes it remarkable, I suppose. Nobody
actually expects to see a Dahlia 17' tall.
The Dahlia that David Hill gave us is *much* more lovely, we think. AND it
flowers in the garden here so from the pov of interest and value, I'd chat
him up, if I were you!
I must tell you that various experts disagree on whether either/or is D.
imperialis or D.excelsa but ours are not white! Neither our imperialis nor
whatever-it-is that David gave us. Chris Brickells told Ray ours is
imperialis and so did a collector of Dahlias, just this autumn and that's
good enough for us, Ray having been given it by someone back from his or her
travels - happens quite a lot here with many plants.
I may say that this same discussion will be heard among those who grow
Passiflorae. One person says we have the apparently 'extinct' John Innes,
another says we do not. ;-)

snip
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)