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#1
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Dahlia imperialis
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? My garden isn't as hardy as Abbotsbury, but I'd love to try it next year. BTW didn't notice anything particularly out of season the ie no snowdrops etc. Pam in Bristol |
#2
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"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? My garden isn't as hardy as Abbotsbury, but I'd love to try it next year. BTW didn't notice anything particularly out of season the ie no snowdrops etc. Well mine doesn't flower, ever. According to Ray at Hill House, where I obtained it, it needs to get up to the roof of his large greenhouse, about 18ft, before it flowers and then it has goldy coloured blooms I'm told. You say the one you saw in flower had white flowers, and David Hill said a few months ago his has pink flowers, and both of them flower at a much smaller size (half size) than the Hill House ones. So, three varieties of one species? Hybrids? Anyone know? Ours has been out in the garden for the last few years and survived the winters, but no chance of a flower, nice architectural plant though. -- Regards Bob In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London |
#3
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In article , Pam Moore
writes My garden isn't as hardy as Abbotsbury, but I'd love to try it next year. Powis Castle grow Dahlia imperialis, and while the terraces there have a mild microclimate it's probably not so mild as Abbotsbury. -- Stewart Robert Hinsley |
#5
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On Thu, 9 Dec 2004 16:25:15 -0000, "Bob Hobden"
wrote: According to Ray at Hill House, where I obtained it, it needs to get up to the roof of his large greenhouse, about 18ft, before it flowers and then it has goldy coloured blooms I'm told. You say the one you saw in flower had white flowers, and David Hill said a few months ago his has pink flowers, and both of them flower at a much smaller size (half size) than the Hill House ones. The one at Abbotsbury was a lovely clear white; only 2 blooms but a lot of buds. It must have been nearer 10 to 12 feet than the 8 which I quoted. It was growing a good foot below a raised path, and I had to reach up to inspect the flower. NO sign of any seed pods, so maybe only just flowering. I liked the white one but would prefer David's pink one to "goldy couloured". Hey David! Do you sell seed? Thanks Sacha, I'll do some more research before I buy one of your plants next year. Pam in Bristol |
#6
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Mine bloomed--in a slightly different climate. My climate is similar to the
climate in the UK (which is why I take an interest in your fine board), but not exactly like any specific part of the country. I have warm summers like the southeast of England but more rain, and the rain is more seasonal (and pouring right now). I also have a fairly long growing season--I am guessing that late frosts are rarer here (Pacific Northwest of USA) judging by all the complaints that British gardners have about early-blooming Rhododendrons getting frosted. Mine was "only" about 4 meters tall when it bloomed. I didn't think the flowers would be much, but they are. They are quite large for species Dahlias. Unfortunately they are up too high to really appreciate unless one happens to have them in a really strategic spot. I can appreciate mine just fine this year, because I cut them off to harvest the shoots, which I am hoping to root (I was told this was possible; wish me luck). Another fine big Dahlia, which blooms more readily, and is of a similar scale but smaller, is D. tenuicualis. The leaves are distinctly purplish. Cheers, Atar Sacha wrote: 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 -- Enjoy reading about special plants from interesting parts of the world on my blog at a href="http://wildestdreamsofkew.blogspot.com""Wildest Dreams of Kew"/a |
#7
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I have just posted a couple of pics of the tree dahlias I have on
alt.binaries.pictures.gardens. The double is around 8ft tall despite the gales we have had, the picture was taken yesterday. -- David Hill www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk |
#8
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"David Hill" wrote .. I have just posted a couple of pics of the tree dahlias I have on alt.binaries.pictures.gardens. The double is around 8ft tall despite the gales we have had, the picture was taken yesterday. Nice photo's of at least a couple of different flowers. So David, are yours hybrids between D.imperialis and another? Or are they something else? -- Regards Bob In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London |
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