Bad year for giant red/whites!

So far the only Yarra Falls source lost all theirs, maybe not enough Blithe Spirit (will see), and no Utrecht available. Of course this seems to be a symptom of this years weather problems. But it got me to thinking about how easily a specific dahlia that is not heavily spread can be wiped off the map for most people. If I can proliferate this favorite type of mine I wonder if I could give the children or grandchildren to sellers to keep them going? Doesn't a big red/white checkered or striped A/AA sized dahlia sound like a potential big seller?

Which ones are gone todgor? Just Blithe Spirit and Ultrecht ?(not that the loss of even one dahlia isn't a big bad thing).

Well those two are not totally gone, there is some stock to preserve them for later years, and I just might get a Blithe Spirit this year. But as I understand it Yarra Falls is totally gone from the online sellers. Blithe Spirit and Yarra Falls are primarily in Europe, namely Netherlands and Germany, but it seems impossible to get any there these days with the increased costs and regulations. Just a bit perplexed at how all of these beauties are only available here from one seller each in the US, they must be poor tuber makers or something. At least a got a few Yuniohs.

Yunioh:
http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0XABMHnIemL3QG6FznQ1tsrME!u5beMVyTk7bh!6KOXCjtaqfSAeDw2wCBafQr2CPv111FtKh53Qjod2jl8i94BYks!MMyGG0SOAc!!SbdkDcTnmY2R26YI!FsnS3IfgLAZa4XogGKtY/Yunioh2.jpg?dc=4675435121886784852

Blithe Spirit:
http://k43.pbase.com/o6/04/795204/1/86344382.qSyQheRV.BlitheSpirit.JPG

Yarra Falls:
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l82/wblevin/97YarraFalls.jpg

Utrecht:
http://pics.davesgarden.com/pics/todgor_1222388424_276.jpg

Yes that is the kiss of bad tidings I fear if not tuberlifik. I also wonder why the breeders aren't working on this. I would think that they would be big sellers.

Tod, you are the king of dahlia shopping, either going for the mammoths or the rare bi-colors. I had Yarra Falls some years ago and can't remember if it was a good tubermaker or not. Sometimes it's in the genes, they're just not destined to keep well. I am told the Camano breeds have some parent genetics that lend them to 'iffy' storage. I'm an indiscriminate killer of tubers LOL: I'll kill anything, from any parent, any year.

I can't see the image of Yunioh, will keep trying.

Dnut, if the dahlia is a poor reproducer or tough keeper, it makes sense to me that a grower wouldn't want to mess with it further; not worth the effort/cost to keep the stock going.

I should have known that messy URL wouldn't last - here's Yunioh below (just picture that at 9-10 inches):

I think if the bloom is truly awesome, someone should preserve it, like Old House Gardens does with the heirlooms. I'm thinking of giving it a try. I could plant all the tubers for 2-3 years to build up stock.

Oh my, looks good enough to eat! No wonder you hate to see it perish. I say go for it, take cuttings too for even more tubers. Dave Bates has a pretty good tutorial on pot tubers on his UK site, a bit tough to navigate sometimes, but I found it not too long ago.
http://www.dahliaworld.co.uk/pot-tubers.htm

Aaaggh!! Now I get a call that the Yuniohs all rotted in storage. Again the only known source. This is getting ridiculous. Must have been a really bad storage season, so many orders have no-shows. Honestly, if someone has a Yunioh, name your price.

How frustrating, Tod. Endeavor to perservere and perhaps you'll be rewarded. Have you considered checking on availability via yahoo groups?

Annie, I'll definitely try that, though I made a request for some others and got no response. Have to call the seller today and see if any survived for next year, which is what counts.

Tod, I am going to the local dahlia auction Monday and I will look for your mentioned tubers. There are dahlia growers there that have been growing for 60 years,. They may have one or some of the above or perhaps an associate that might . At any rate , I will try. It's a long shot but you never know. If I find it , it will be yours.

Thanks Willow! I can send you a box in return. Talked to the Yunioh seller, she said she had a few left, and she was going to do some cuttings to try to get it going again for future years.

Well Todd, I went to the auction and none to be found. The suggestion was to contact the long Island dahlia society or Mid Atlantic. Art Keifer is a member of our society and had grown Blithe Spirit and Utrecht but not know. He thinks that he got the tubers from the Mid Atlantic Society but" but at my age and memory it could have been Long Island society ". He's a great guy, developed Honka and about 20 other miniatures, about 65 years of dahlia knowledge there. I tried. Good luck in your search.

O this is not sounding good todgor :(

Thanks for the info anyway, willow! Ugh, another setback, got my Arrowhead order, no Blithe Spirit, perhaps next year. Just not enough now. Something to do in 2010, hopefully.