Thomas Alva Edison. Get it. Rich dark purple, huge wonderbloom. I even enjoy watching the buds unfold. But I'm no dahlia judge. I just like how it has bloomed here.

Neon Splendor: Neon orange and wonderful. Get it.

Spartacus- so lovely in larger deep red and wavery form. Get it. It bloomed too late for me, but I am hampered by limited sun, so if you have sun, get it.

Fire Magic- beautiful pink, lots of blooms. Get it.

Great thread. I am also thinking about next year. I already have Fire Magic marked to order from Swan Island and am trying to focus on varieties with long sturdy stems and blooms that last once cut.

Does anyone have an all time favorite for cutting that you could recommend?

For cutting, Coral Gypsy. I would not be without this one. It's an all around wonderful dahlia. T. Edison and Spartacus are good too. I first saw Spartacus in Butchard Gardens years ago, everyone standing around taking pics and looking for the name.

What colors and sizes are you interested in sjmarshes?

Ironically the Coral Gypsy I ordered and planted this year was mislabeled. What I received instead is an approximately 5 inch fuchsia with flat petals. I was disappointed at first but it is beautiful with amazingly impressive long strong stems.

As far as colors go my very favorites are coral shades and my least favorite would be lavenders. But because I like mixed size and color arrangements I would have no problem with a small lavender used to accent a larger blossom with lavender shading. While I never would have ordered the fuchsia it turns out I like it a lot and will be looking for something that goes well with it.

I have gone from being proud of myself for not over doing it and only ordering 4 varieties, to thinking I should have ordered more and now back to glad I didnÂt because there are so many seasoned Dahlia growers on this forum who hopefully will share their favorites for cutting.

I had a problem with Spartacus & have heard the same from a lot of other people-- it has very brittle stems that break easily- usually right above a leaf node. Otherwise a beautiful flower- fairly late to bloom & fades a bit in the sun.

Pooch--when you say "limited sun" do you mean a spot with shade or is your region just characterized by overcast days? I'd like a deeper color to compliment Innocence (the only dahlia I have that's blooming well this year....and one of the most elegant flowers I've ever seen) but in Z5 I don't want to wait until Sept. for all the complimenting.

...Which raises another question. My innocence is at least 5' now and my Kidd's Climax next to it is 4+' with nary a bloom. Is this b/c of limited sun? The nodes are about 8" apart?

Thanks.

No, no Verzer, we have wonderful moderate, sunny summers. 'Limited sun' means that my garden beds are carved out of an evergreen forest with towering fir trees and hemlocks all around. Some could be dispatched, but I like them for year round greenery, and others are not ours to cut. It makes a huge difference in height of dahlias for sure, and sometimes in their color, for better or worse.

When I had Kidd's Climax it bloomed very late too, but that doesn't mean anything. I try to stick with early to mid-season bloomers, but you don't know how they'll behave until you try them in your own place.

Innocence is very lovely. Reminds me of Bracken Ballerina. I would want a hot pink or dark pink blend to go with it, crowned with the deepest maroons.