Having been asked by our elderly editor to assist him with a late entry, my first thoughts were that perhaps his large collection of miniature dahlias were now in full bloom. A quick glance at the calendar informed me that the date was November 20th. Having just enjoyed a rather mild spell of weather albeit wet I concluded that he must have arranged a late late show to exhibit his beloved flowers and that he required some assistance with transport.. I quickly grabbed my car keys, fuelled up at the nearest Esso station and arrived at Mount Vernon, Glasgow, only to be informed that no late, late Monklands show had been arranged and it was an entry for our yearbook, “Impact” that he had requested.
Having thought long and hard about what I could write and having flicked through numerous publications I noticed that nearly every yearbook contained a “ New or nearly new varieties article”. I decided on an “Old or really old” section.
I specialise in growing giants and I am concentrating on giant semi-cactus, especially for the nine vase class at the National Dahlia Society’s London National Show for the Vincent Parker Perpetual Challenge Cup requiring nine varieties, one bloom of each. Anybody who grows giant semi-cactus dahlias would tell you to start with the Jupiter family and I would certainly agree. However having read most dahlia correspondence over the past seven or eight years I have not come across any new members of the Jupiter family.
To date we have only really got three varieties Daleko Jupiter; Pink Jupiter and Rose Jupiter. Yes I know full well about Coral Jupiter and Jim’s Jupiter but I feel that they are too similar to existing members of the family and the Classification Committee would appear to agree with me so I would not be prepared to risk either of them in an exhibit which already included Daleko; Pink and Rose, thus risking the possibility of incurring the wrath of the men in grey suits for we all know how fickle they can be. So I will settle for these three to be the backbone of the exhibit.
A quick look back over past issues of “Impact” covering
the past three seasons have not assisted in promoting new varieties
of giant semi-cactus. 1994 it was suggested that Brendan Shine
would be a welcome addition. 1995 Tomboy was the only promising
giant semi. I have yet to see either in the flesh, on slides or
advertised in nurserymen’s catalogues. 1996 Hillcrest Camelot
was mentioned.
Great, thought I a Hillcrest variety and I knew exactly where
to get some stock so a trip down to Carlisle was forthcoming.
I grew Camelot this year and found it to be a neat and tidy giant
and I will definitely grow it again. Could this be my number four
for London?
So I now have three bankers and one promising newcomer. I am
still two thirds short for an entry for London. Perhaps one new
variety over the past three seasons I had better try a different
approach or I will never get there. I recalled an article in the
1990/91 “Impact” written by the champion grower of giant
semi-cactus Bert Wiseman. Bert had listed 15 varieties to grow.
So far I have tried eleven of the recommended varieties over the
past couple of years with varying degrees of success. Having decided
that it would take me many years to obtain the nine varieties
required for London if I were to rely on fairly new releases I
decided to investigate old or really old varieties.
Bert’s fifteen varieties:—
Respectable Raised 1962.
Kenora Clyde No date available.
Frank Lovell Raised 1973
Inca Dambuster Raised 1975
Le Vonne Splinter Raised 1978
Daleko Jupiter Raised 1979 Pink Jupiter Raised 1981 Evening Mail
Raised 1981 Elmbrook Rebel Raised 1982
Lloyd Huston Raised 1983 Bob Fitzjohn Raised 1985 Rose Jupiter
Raised 1986 Jaldec Jerry Raised 1987 Rev. P. Holian Raised 1988
Debra Ann Craven Raised 1988 Of Bert’s 15 varieties there
are four that I have not yet tried to grow — Inca Dambuster;
Kenora Clyde; Bob Fitzjohn and Rev. P. Holian. The limitation
of stock being the main reason that I have not tried them. However
I have now found out that three of those varieties are part of
the National Collection so I may try there.
So I have eight varieties from the list to assess as I’ve
previously mentioned the Jupiter family so here goes:
Frank Lovell. I grew this one for the first time in 1997 and was
very impressed. Great size, good form and a refreshing light yellow
colour. Verdict: Straight into the London line-up.
Evening Mail. I have tried this tall growing variety over the
past three years. Similar colour to Frank Lovell. I exhibited
this one at London in 1996. Verdict: A must for the nine.
Le Vonne Splinter. Again I have grown this one for a number of
years now. It makes size, is a tall grower and can sometimes produce
Al blooms. Verdict: Petals swirl. Cure this and it is a must.
Debra Ann Craven. Great colour, good form and size. Sometimes
prone to virus. In my six vase exhibit at Stirling in 1995.
Verdict; With correct stock selection this one could make it to
London.
Great I now have seven varieties that I have previously grown and rate good enough on their day to merit the trip to Westminster. Only two more varieties to find. Of the four varieties remaining on Bert’s list Jaldec Jerry; Respectable; Elmbrook Rebel and Lloyd Huston I found that all of them produced blooms slightly smaller than my banker varieties. I have had some good blooms off all of them on occasion. Could they yet make the trip?? Work is still required to master them although I do recall that Bert stated that it was his experience that some varieties only produced really good blooms every two or three years. So I now have a core of seven varieties and a secondary string of another four varieties. Rather neat I thought for London.
Over the last two seasons I have grown Vantage and I will certainly
grow it again. Only a couple of plants grown each year but most
of the blooms were showable. Certainly on its day it is capable
of making my nine. Another old one. Raised in the U.S.A. in 1972
and now 26 years old. First team selection.
Gay Triumph is another old one that I tried in 1997. 14 years
old and could make it to London with a little work. However I
will list it in my reserve team meantime.
Now eight definite with six substitutes, fourteen varieties.
Still too neat. I have selected another four golden oldies to
try in 1998. Minder - 1984. Inca Dambuster - 1975. Alltami Apollo
- 1984. Sherwood Monarch - 1980’s. Time will tell. I also
have three relatively new varieties that I grew in 1997.
Irene’s Pride - 1993 - Best giant semi-cactus on my plot.
Inland Dynasty - 1993 and Danum Meteor - 1994. All of the above
varieties could prove to be good enough for London’s first
team. So to conclude I have a first string of eleven varieties
- three Jupiters; Irene’s Pride; Vantage; Frank Lovell; Debra
Ann Craven; Danum Meteor; Le Vonne Splinter; Evening Mail and
Inland Dynasty.
A second string of six varieties - Gay Triumph; Respectable; Lloyd
Huston; Elmbrook Rebel; Hillcrest Camelot and Jaldec Jerry. With
four other golden oldies to try - Minder; Inca Dambuster; Alltami
Apollo and Sherwood Monarch. Roll on next season IT IS LONDON
OR BUST.
Editor’s Note: All I can say is Best of Luck, Son. I will
reserve a space in “Impact” 1998/99 just in case.