My first year with Dahlias in 25-30 years. I'm a lazy gardener and usually either forget to dig them in the fall or plant them in the spring. But Breck's tempted me on a dreary December day, and I got 3 collections- and ended up with 16 varietals and 44 plants. And I'm a happy gardener.

So far most have been smaller than expected- though Fleural and Kelvin Floodlight are so huge and prolific, I welcome some smaller flowers for cutting.

My blues never look nearly as blue as the catalog- (Emperor, and hopefully in a week or two, HaPet Blue Eyes) but otherwise they look like the catalog. Except my Tartans. I ended up with 4. 2 in 2 different collections. All look the same. They're beautiful, with long, curly petals, and a yellow center reminiscent of a sunflower. [is there a name for that?]

I've got no complaints-- just curious.

Hi Jim, and welcome to the Dahlias forum!

I think the blues are photoshopped a bit, which is why they never totally look like the pictures.

Are all of your Tartans blooming like that? If the yellow center shows right away, then usually that's a sign of the stock breaking down. Weather can sometimes play into it, as well. If the center is showing after the petals have all unfurled, then that's the normal life cycle of the bloom.

Thanks for your answer--

Yup-- All 4 tartans are blooming like that. [and only the Tartans] The center shows almost immediately, and the petals are long and curly. The plants are in 2 separate gardens, and 20' apart in those. None of the other 15 varieties look like that, so I think I can rule out soil. One is over 6' tall and all 4 have prolific 6-8" blooms.

We have had some rain-- 13" in July. 4" so far in Aug. More than double our usual. Weather has been atypical-

Colorwise, the Tartans are spot on to Breck's picture. The two I have with blue are Emperor and Hapet Blue Eyes. Both show more purple than blue.

Thanks again- Jim

I had one of my 'Tartan' tubers bloom exactly this same way. I saved tubers from it and marked them, mostly out of curiosity. The following year the flowers from those tubers bloomed like normal 'Tartan'. Odd, but glad to have the big, poofy flowers again.