OURPLANTS

At Blossom Gulch our mission is to provide superior stock of the best dahlia varieties. We grow intensively. Doing so enables us to identify the superior stock and cull the plants that do not meet our standards. There is an extra cost in time and energy but we believe it is well worth it. To be able to confidently provide superior plants to our customers is very rewarding.

Keen dahlia exhibitors who regularly compete for head table honors know all about the importance of locating and growing superior stock of a given variety.When growing for show, multiple plants of one variety are grown side by side. The strongest of these can be marked for saving. It is the tubers from these marked plants that are saved for next year's garden. Many dahlia friendships began with the gift of superior stock of a variety to someone who has struggled with it in the past.

In 1879 the director of the Mexico City Botanical Garden, Vicente Cervantes, sent dahlia plants to Antonio Jose Cavanilles at the Royal Gardens of Madrid. Seeds and plants of these were eventually dispersed throughout Europe beginning in the early 1800's. Dahlias proved to be easy growers and crossed readily so they quickly became popular in Europe and America. We now know that those orignal plants sent from the 'new world' were in fact naturally occuring tetraploids.
The vast majority of plants and animals are endowed with one set of chromosomes from each parent. These are called diploids. Tetraploidy is the doubling of chromosomes (two sets from each parent) and only rarely occurs in nature, usually as the result of an unreduced gamete at fertilization. The science was not yet available in the ninteenth century but it was no lucky accident that these 'tets' were the ones chosen to send rather than the more common diploid dahlias growing in the wild. While the doubling of chromosomes does not double the size of the plant it does tend to make them a little larger with better substance and brighter color. It is easy to understand why those plants were selected.
The amazing chapter of this story occured shortly after dahlias became popular. It is not known when for sure but fairly soon after their arrival in Europe the chromosomes doubled again making subsequent plants octoploid. Each parent now contributes four duplicate sets of chromosomes. It is believed that this second expansion of genetic possibilities has led us to where we are today. The diverisity of sizes, forms, patterns, and colors in the modern dahlia hybrids is unprecedented in the world of horticulture.

Unfortunately there is a bit of a 'down side' to all of this diversity.
All this genetic information, much of which is redundant, can produce a certain amount of instability. Certain varieties have been known to grow out of character spontaneously in several locations nearly at once. Occasionally this has led to such a decline that the variety is no longer grown. The chances that this is the result of a disease such as a virus are remote.
A less dramatic but real manifestation of 'decline' and the one that concerns us is stock decline. Luckily, the varieties that eventually show this tendancy do so slowly. It is something that we can work around. We at Blossom Gulch are committed to the concept of only propagating strong plants. If you have ever been in the garden of someone considered to be a good grower of dahlias and wondered why a certain variety appears more vigorous than your's? Look no further; they started with superior stock and keep it going by replanting tubers from the most vigorous plants.