THE WELSH TRIALS AT PENCOED COLLEGE 2004
I was sent the results of the 2004 Welsh trials on
the 15th of October by Eric Payne, and I almost disbelieved it is now the 10th
of December. My gran told me once, each ten years goes twice as fast as the ten
previous, and now I know what she was talking about. First could I say what a
joy it has been to sample the photographs of all the cultivars in the Welsh
trials? I think the standard of the British breeders is going through the roof,
there are several mouth watering varieties, (much better description than
cultivars, but don’t tell the botanists) to try out in the coming years. The
name Godsmark springs to mind, although as I said, all of our breeders are
producing fantastic new seedlings. Don’t let anyone tell you that the British
Isles isn’t the place to be, when it comes to breeding new dahlias. It really is
an exciting time as new untested flowers make their self known. It is such a
pity we can’t get more youngsters interested in our passion. We lead the World
in exhibiting these wonderful flowers, but can’t devise a way to increase our
membership; we want a monthly slot on the television, that’s what we want,
instead of all these makeovers. Now for my second year, of spouting about the
Pencoed College dahlia trials. Are you in for a treat, there are some crackers
on show, and that’s not just the winners. Might I say before I start this
report, it is an opinion I have formed through looking at the photographs, and
reading the various snippets on the Internet, and in the garden press. Unlike
the judges I have not had the benefit of seeing these wonderful blooms at the
trials. So judges accept my apologies in advance, because to do a report that is
forever praising and never questioning is not a true report.
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What a belter, this young flower has form in quantity, each petal opening to make a completely round bloom, I’d love to know the dimensions, but perhaps next year this could be possible. Another thing that not all raisers do is to give a rough idea of how many flowers a plant can carry, the facilities are there so why not use them. The flower on the right is a seedling of mine called Argyle Strawberry, the form is very similar don't you think?
You just know this flower will justify its existence, another very young bloom, retaining all its colour, example of a good medium beating a good small, I think it’s a doubtful ball, but hard to say at this stage of development.
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I think Stan Hall raised this one, but don’t quote me `cos I’m not certain, I would have liked to have seen the flower a little younger to see if the outer petals had been flatter, colour wise it’s outstanding, the floral arrangers are going to love it. I should imagine this will be in Halls catalogue this year. This is a shot from a plant that was growing in a five inch pot in my greenhouse for breeding purposes, it replaces the one that was here earlier.