At 11:50 PM 23/10/2005, you wrote: >Don: > > Since the double purple and double white Dahlia imperialis > seem to have >come from Strybing, I am curious if they have been given cultivar names >yet, or should one of us take care of that chore? Howdy All, Apologies for delays in contributing to this discussion. I am barely using the computer at the moment due to continuing hassles with my Chronic Fatigue. If you're expecting and answer from me and you don't get it within 10 days please send me a gentle reminder as it means it got lost in the flurry of emails I get when I DO log in. <grin> Re Dahlia imperialis..... Just to let people know.... here in Australia we have single and double mauve (or pink if you'd like to call it that), plus single and double white. That is at the very least. I have heard of other colours rumoured. The basic mauve-pink "species" that we have here can easily flower at 6 metres tall, making a stunning structural addition to the garden. I do not grow the double mauve myself, just seen it offered via mail-order. The single and double whites unfortunately rarely flower as they start flowering a month or so later than the single mauve-pink, which normally only just starts flowering before frosts. I an intrigued that no-one has mentioned Dahlia excelsa, another valuable "tree" dahlia.... which is basically a similar scale (gets to at least 4m without hassles, although it does like a bit of extra summer water to keep it happier) but flowers a couple of months earlier. With the normal mauve-pink single one we get a few flowers before frost (it usually starts flowering early May) but the excelsa starts in March so it is well and truly in flower before the frosts start. It has a slightly smaller flower than imperialis, and is more of a dark pink with darker throat. There have also been hybrids made (here in Australia at least, but I would assume elsewhere as well) between the "tree dahlias" and the normal dahlias..... these are producing much taller varieties that start flowering before Christmas (i.e early summer) but can reach 2 to 3 metres tall. I for example have a hybrid in my garden that produces semi-double orange/apricot flowers for most of summer, but on a plant that is 2.5 to 3m tall. These hybrids do unfortunately need staking as they do not (well the coupel I have seen anyway) have not inherited the much thicker stem of the imperialis/excelsa parentage. I am sure though that some of the hybrids HAVE inherited that particular trait. I just thought that some of this information might be useful as some of it hasn't been mentioned. I have no idea whether they have cultivar names, but before jumping to do that please find out whether names have already been registered somewhere else in the world and maybe try to name them the same thing. Makes identification MUCH easier. The basic Mauve-pink and the double white at least have been around for many years here in Australia, so I would verify when Strybings got theirs and as to whether they bred it themselves or just imported it from somewhere else before starting naming them based on the assumption they came from Strybings. They may very well have originated there, but definitely worth checking that for sure before assuming. Anyway, again my apologies for taking so long to contribute this. I just don't use the computer much at all any more, so please also give me some leeway with typos etc too! <grin>. Cheers. Paul Tyerman Canberra, Australia - USDA Zone Equivalent approx. 8/9 Growing an eclectic collection of plants from all over the world including Aroids, Crocus, Cyclamen, Erythroniums, Fritillarias, Galanthus, Irises, Trilliums (to name but a few) and just about anything else that doesn't move!!