Our next meeting will be held at the Carriage House in the Bayard Cutting Arboretum on Montauk Hwy in East Islip on Thursday Feb.16.   At 7PM there will be a Dahlias101 class. All are welcome and the admission is free. Click the calendar tab for further directions.

Spotlight on Collarette Dahlias

Patricia Murphy

Collarette Dahlias (CO)

        Collarette dahlias are classified by their form and color. The dahlia blooms have a single row of ray florets that have rounded tips and are arranged on a flat plane surrounding a disc flower. All eight ray florets should be uniform, slightly cupped, and overlap. Collarettes have petaloids that are less than ½ the length of the ray florets. The petaloids that surround the disc flower are usually a different color than the ray florets and look like a collar. Collarette dahlia plants usually grow to a height of 3 feet.

        You can find these collarette dahlias in the garden this year: Pooh, Elzaida, Little Showoff, Bumble Rumble, Wowie, Alpen Cherub, Frey’s Orange, Alpen Blossom, Caboose, Christmas Carol, Aspen Diamond, Apple Blossom, and Mars.

        These collarette dahlias are bright and perky. Don’t forget to look for them when you visit the Long Island Dahlia Society gardens at the Bayard Cutting Arboretum. Pooh will make you smile.

* The descriptions of the collarette dahlia are based on the American Dahlia Society (ADS) classifications.

** These photographs were taken in the Long Island Dahlia Society gardens at Bayard Cutting Arboretum by Patricia Murphy (August 2005).

Copyright 2005 Long Island Dahlia Society. All rights reserved.