Late summer miscellany
Ina (Mon, 14 Sep 2009 12:09:36 PDT)

Interesting to hear Keith Hammett's name from overseas. Here in New
Zealand he is a very big name in developing new hybrids in Dahlias, Tree
Dahlias, sweet peas, Clivias amongst several others. Which is why I am
so pleased to have one of his A. Belladonnas, although it may only be
one he acquired for future use.

Ina Crossley Zone 9-10
Auckland New Zealand

Last year I purchased two potted dahlias being sold as bedding plants.
They are representatives of a series named ?Mystic? dahlias, and (I?ve
since learned ? isn?t Google great!) were raised in New Zealand by one
Dr. Keith Hammet

I?m not a dahlia enthusiast, but these plants are a bit different and
caught my eye. They have very dark, finely divided foliage and single
flowers. Last year I grew them in pots, but this year they are in the
ground. They are about three or four feet tall and the contrast between
the bright flowers and the dark foliage is very nice. The one named
?Mystic Desire? has intense orange-red flowers and the one named
?Mystic Illusion? has yellow flowers with a dark center. I didn?t plant
these until the last week of June, and they are just coming into their
prime.

These are a very handsome addition to the late summer border.

Is anyone else growing these?

Jim McKenney

jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com

Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, zone 7