-Now take the matter of `Petals Make the Flower' a little further, how do you try and produce varieties of exhibition standard? You make sure all the varieties used are worthy of the name, in other words they are first class  types, and from similar groups. Take some of the 2005 seedlings I've been luckily enough to produce. I know I keep on, but My Neddy is a pretty smart flower, and I hope it performs as well as I anticipate. I've had seedling miniatures in red before, matter a fact I put one in the Northern trials called `Pretty Boy Wybrow' bit of a mouthful I know, it was named after a mate that had done a bit of boxing in his youth. Anyway, My Neddy would knock spots off of that variety, the petal placement alone would leave it standing. The flower's it produced in the seedlings bed just got better and better.

Take a look at the petal shape, and compare the similarities of father and offspring, I can't say son or daughter because as you now know, most composite type flowers have both female, and male reproductive organs, clever trick that. The way things are going these days, I wouldn't put it past the human race to develop such skills in time, mores the pity. The beautifully formed Cornel grown by a friend, and dahlia enthusiast Geoff Hoyle from Stockport, was taken in  full sun, or I'm a Dutchman, and has lost quite a bit of colour, not through fading, more through the light being so intense, but the form is immaculate. See and compare the dimples at the base of each petal, they are slightly more prominent on My Neddy, but they're there. 

Now compare the merits of these two, both have the same seed parent (mother) which was Ken's Rarity from New Zealand. Both had different pollen providers (fathers) For Amy Rose on the left, I used pollen from Charlie Dimmock, there wasn't much of it, being Charlie has very small centres. Who said "No she hasn't?" Madam Butterfly on the other hand was produced by taking the pollen from Yvonne, which was Charlie Dimmock's father as well, (pollen provider) and gently administering it on to the open stigmas of Ken's Rarity. For some strange reason this had the effect of colour loss in Madam Butterfly, to such an extent that it looked almost translucent. If only I can flower this plant as well as this photograph shows, in 2006. Then we'll have a floral artists goldmine, gotta dream haven't you? By the way for the gent who said he had a grand-daughter called Amy Rose, and if the variety come good he'd be interested in purchasing one, pleased to say the single split root of Amy Rose, the dahlia is send up wonderful eyes and I'm certain it will be a winner. It didn't have a look in on the seedling bed, being next to two very tall but inferior seedlings, but now it is starting the season a new, it is raring to go.

Fast forward to Oct 2007 and Amy Rose is at the bottom of a friends compost heap, such is the nature of breeding high quality dahlias, and the trial period they should have. Amy Rose the first grew alright, but was strong enough to turn all the buds into the sun, and was as clocked faced as wall clock. Don't despair because Mk2 is already on the assemble line and hopefully will fair better. Wanna see? Photo

TO BE CONTINUED. .......................

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