Dahlia Society of NSW & ACT Inc.

Vol. 4 No. 1 March 2009

THE DAHLIA SOCIETY OF NSW & ACT Inc.

Patrons : Neil Brooker and Vic Dawes President : Elwin Notley 227 Flushcombe Road BLACKTOWN NSW 2148 Ph. (02) 9622 8098 Vice President : Robert Curll Secretary : Bonnie Carroll ‘Talmore’ 336 East Gilmore Road GILMORE via TUMUT NSW 2720 Ph. (02) 6947 5243 Treasurer : Bobbie Brooker Committee : Margaret Hillen Graham Carroll Alex Ross Gerard Oldfield Robert Mercer Judges Convener : Alex Ross Ph. (02) 9653 1294 Editor : Robert Slarke POBox 727 LITHGOW NSW 2790 Ph. (02) 6351 4244 Email – slarke.r n@bigpond.com

Meetings are held at the Mittagong RSL Club, Old Hume Highway, MITTAGONG New South Wales

NEXT MEETING : 11.00am Sunday 8th March 2009 General Meeting FOLLOWING MEETING : 11.00am Saturday 2nd May 2009 General Meeting Editorial deadline for next magazine : June 5th 2009

Opinions expressed by authors are not specifically endorsed by the

Dahlia Society of NSW & ACT Inc.

Presidents Report Hello to fellow members, I hope this message finds you all in good health and your dahlias producing excellent blooms and wish you all success at the forthcoming shows. At our last meeting we discussed the Cactus dahlia with enough flowers provided by the members with the majority of judges present, and competently chaired by John Woodfield. Stems were discussed as were centres, florets radiate evenly from the centre, no gaps, and the different forms of florets. The flowers did not stand a chance as they were dismembered and compared to the standards book Cactus, Semi cactus, Exhibition Cactus and Fimbriated Cactus. The difficulties the judge has when he or she judges them. And the winners and losers should respect the results. Everybody left the meeting having learnt something, thank you John. I would like to thank all the people participating in the electronic discussion concerning the formation of the new Dahlia Society of Australia and would encourage everybody to express their view, as this will be your club being organized for the promotion in every way a general interest in building knowledge of dahlia culture and fostering friendship through the dahlia. To join the discussion or just keep up with progress contact the steering committee secretary John Menzel email address menzelj@baonline.com.au Elwin Notley ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Secretary’s Report The Annual General Meeting held on 25th October was well attended and business that needed discussing was dealt with during the AG meeting. The committee for 2008/2009 is the same as the previous year with only one change; Robert Mercer took the place of Robert Slarke on the committee. Robert Slarke did not seek re-election but he is still continuing in the role of Magazine Editor. When it came time to elect the Patrons for the Dahlia Society one of the members suggested that we write a letter to the Ambassador of Mexico inviting her to be an ‘Honorary Patron’ of our society. This was done and I have much pleasure informing all members that Her Excellency Martha Ortiz de Rosas Ambassador of Mexico has agreed to be a ‘Patron’ of the Dahlia Society of NSW & ACT. The second ‘Tuber Auction’ for the year followed the Annual General Meeting and there were a lot of tubers to be auctioned giving Gerard Oldfield a busy afternoon as auctioneer.

Twenty-five members were present at the January meeting that did not follow the usual pattern of our meeting but was a special Judges meeting with members present listening and learning. Alex Ross our Judgers Convenor introduced John Woodfield as the chairperson for the meeting and the subject for discussing was the ‘cactus dahlia’. All the different types of cactus dahlias were analyzed by the Judges present at the meeting and thankfully there was enough cactus dahlias brought in by members for the Judges to do the analyzing on. At the end of the discussion one point John strongly put across was the importance to remove finished flowers from the dahlia bushes to help prevent disease and to promote more flowers so you did not end the season with only a small amount of flowers on your bushes. At the end of the meeting Alex Ross thanked John Woodfield for sharing his knowledge with the members especially the newer members, making it a very successful meeting. Another important matter talked about was the Concord Garden Club Autumn Flower Show incorporating the NSW & ACT Dahlia State Championship on the 4-5 April 2009. All members are invited to exhibit or attend this show, as it will be the main dahlia show for our society this year. The following corrections are applicable to the Concord Show schedule : Page 5 class 2. NSW & ACT Dahlia Society Championship It reads; 9 vases single flower dahlias, distinct types. This should read, 9 vases of dahlias, one flower per vase, distinct types. Page 5 class 4. Small Vase Dahlia Championship It written as; 6 vases, at least 4 types, 6 varieties. This should read 6 vases of dahlias under 160mm, standard units, at least 4 types and distinct cultivars. Page 4 It is written as Best Dahlia Exhibition type. This should read Best Dahlia Exhibition Cactus type. These changes will not be in the schedule for the Concord Garden Club Show and will only appear in this magazine, with the approval of the Concord Garden Club and for the benefit on our exhibitors. I hope everyone’s dahlias are growing well and the weather has been kind to you helping your flowers to bloom ready for the show benches. Bonnie Carroll …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

ALBION PARK Judge – Stephen Astill (Berkeley) 10th January 2009

AWARD CULTIVAR EXHIBITOR Decorative over 160mm Toon Exile Bruce Raines Decorative under 160mm Le Batts Prime Bruce Raines Cactus over 160mm Kenora Challenger Bruce Raines Cactus under 160mm Mrs. J. Robertson Bruce Raines Waterlily Peggy Bruce Raines Other Type Dahlia Mauve Cricket Bruce Raines Championship : 1st Bruce Raines : Toon Exile, Le Batts Prime, Mrs. J. Robertson, Reg Kappler, Vera’s Elma, Formby Alpine There was 1 exhibitor and 10 exhibits.

DAPTO SHOW Judge – Stephen Astill (Berkeley) 16th January 2009 AWARD CULTIVAR EXHIBITOR Best in Show Elma Elizabeth Bruce Raines Decorative Elma Elizabeth Bruce Raines Cactus Reg Kappler Bruce Raines Miniature Decorative or Cactus Embrace Bruce Raines Exhibition Cactus Mauve Cricket Bruce Raines Waterlily Brulon Vermilion Bruce Raines Pompon Woden Supreme Bruce Raines Special Class Higgo Lacy (Fimbriated Cactus) 1st Bruce Raines Flower of the Year Championship : 1st Ian Townsend : Elma Elizabeth, Kiara Julia, Christie Angora There was 1 exhibitor and 21 vases.

NIMMITABEL SHOW 31st January 2009 Judge – John Woodfield (Canberra)

AWARD CULTIVAR EXHIBITOR Champion Reg Kappler John Lawlis Very hot & dry conditions with grasshoppers everywhere.

COBARGO SHOW 6th February 2009 AWARD CULTIVAR EXHIBITOR Best in Show Bracken Sarah Beryl Schaefer Decorative Bracken Sarah Beryl Schaefer Cactus Reg Kappler Beryl Schaefer Any Other Type Cornel Beryl Schaefer

GAR (GARFIELD) DAVIDSON – BAIRNSDALE VICTORIA

12/9/1933 – 19/3/2007

A dahlia enthusiast for fifty years, Gar Davidson was a prominent member of the Australian dahlia community. From an early age Gar had a green thumb, growing vegetables and flowers from the age of 18. After being friends for 8 years, Gar married Joyce at the age of 22 and in 1957 they began managing a large sheep property ‘Willow Grove’ not far from the Fernbank / Glenaladale area near Bairnsdale. It was at this property that Gar started growing and raising dahlias, many of which he named with the prefix ‘Glenbank’ combining the Glen of Glenaladale and bank from Fernbank. Gar and Joyce spent 25 years at ‘Willow Grove’ raising two sons. During his time at Fernbank, Gar also raised a number of dahlia cultivars including Glenbank Lemon Supreme (cactus), Glenbank Dawn (cactus) and Glenbank Twinkle (miniature white/pink cactus and seedling of Twinkle Toes) which acquaintance Eric Paynter remembers seeing at the farm in the 1960’s as a seedling. Glenbank Twinkle won the prestigious Stanley Johnson medal from the USA in 1980. This medal is awarded annually to the cultivar with the greatest number of higher than blue ribbon awards that were won at the approximately 80 shows held during the previous year by American Dahlia Society member societies, in the USA and Canada.

After living at Fernbank for 25 years, Gar & Joyce bought a house on a double block of land at Walpa, situated near Lindenow and mid-way between Fernbank and Bairnsdale. Gar soon planted out the backyard with so many rows of dahlias and was so committed to his plants that often Joyce couldn’t find Gar in the patch as all the plants were over head high. He soon found paid work with Bairnsdale Council where he worked on their garden staff for about eight years but continued his love affair with the dahlias at home.

Pam Howden

The 1980’s was a busy time for Gar as he continued raising new cultivars. T.W.Campbell (large yellow cactus), Mrs. G. Davidson (medium yellow Cactus), Lisa Davidson (mini/small pale mauve decorative), Dianne Jean (small pink cactus), and Glenbank Opal (small lemon/pink cactus) were all developed at this time. Gar was a keen sportsman, very good cricketer, as were his two sons, a keen bream fisherman, and he took on bowls successfully too. The Lindenow Club was only too keen to have him as their honorary Greenkeeper, a position he held after retiring from Bairnsdale Council. A beautifully tended dahlia garden of about 40 bushes was grown in the grounds of the Bowling Club, enhancing Gar’s reputation.

Not content with raising quality Cactus and Waterlily dahlias, Gar also raised a good number of exhibition Pompon dahlias. Little Honey (honey gold), Yamba (red wine colour), Glenbank Paleface (pale mauve), pink cultivars Glenbank Pink and Glenbank Goblin and cultivars still seen on the showbench Little Snowdrop (white) and Glenbank Honeycomb (gold) were all raised by Gar Davidson. The most recent cultivars developed by Gar were Alanna (salmon/pink cactus), Shirley M (red waterlily), Katherine Sellers (pink waterlily), Glenbank Topstuff (cream /pink medium Cactus) and perhaps his best known cultivar Pam Howden (pink/yellow/orange toned waterlily named after his late sister-in-law) were all raised within the last fifteen years. Pam Howden was recently named the 2008 winner of the Stanley Johnson medal, sadly after Gar had passed away. Two Stanley Johnson awards honour the long hard years of work Gar Davidson dedicated to his dahlias, a legacy from which all growers will benefit. Rob Slarke ……………………………………………………………………………………………….

NEWS FROM NORTH AMERICA

The Portland Dahlia Society (PDS) and the Dahlia Society

of NSW & ACT have recently signed a Sister Dahlia

Society Statement of Mutual Understanding. Part of my

responsibilities as the PDS representative includes

providing dahlia-related information about happenings

here in the Pacific Northwest of North America. Much of

what has happened or is about to happen, in that

regard, can be found at the websites listed below. In

addition, I will strive to provide or encourage more

timely access to show results, photos, DVDs, videos, etc. Also be advised that we

would be pleased to assist at any time, Australian dahlia growers planning to visit

our corner of the dahlia world.

Every four or five years, the American Dahlia Society’s National Show comes to

western North America. This year, the National Show will combine with the

Snohomish County Dahlia Society (SCDS) Show, August 22nd and 23rd to

celebrate the 100th anniversary of the SCDS. The upcoming National Show will

be held in Everett, Washington just north of Seattle. The historic Floral Hall built

around 1930 and located in Everett’s Forest Park will provide a magnificent

setting for the National Show. You can access more details about our upcoming

National Show via the SCDS website at: http://www.scdahlias.org. Incidentally, our

Portland Dahlia Society will host the National Show in 2012.

The American Dahlia Society has recently upgraded its website at http://dahlia.org

to make it a more user friendly and valuable site for dahlia growers and lovers of

dahlias. Helpful categories include dahlia-related online articles and videos;

available hardcopy publications, materials and DVDs; a listing of affiliated dahlia

societies; the Classification and Handbook of Dahlias including pictures,

descriptions and award winners; and many dahlia-related links.

Another extremely helpful website for North American dahlia-related information

is that of the Colorado Dahlia Society. Their website: http://dahlias.net provides

among much other information, the BigList Dahlia Locator and their Dahlia Gold

list. The BigList provides an alphabetical listing of dahlia varieties available from

commercial growers in North America and the growers offering each variety. The

Dahlia Gold list shows the 2008 top fifty dahlia varieties shown in North America

ranked by total show awards. Australian originations included Embrace, which

garnered the most points (305) of all dahlias shown in 2008. Pam Howden (222)

had the third highest point total, Cameo was twentieth (130 points), Glenbank

Twinkle and Peach Delight were thirty fifth and thirty sixth with 95 points each.

The Portland Dahlia Society website, http://portlanddahlia.com/ gives information

about our Society and its history, online copies of our Bulletin for the last few

years, programs planned for 2009 as well as information regarding our September

5th and 6th show. In addition, pictures from our 2008 garden tour and a pictorial

tour of my garden are provided along with narrative.

The Portland Dahlia Society is a member of the Pacific Northwest Dahlia

Conference (PNDC). The PNDC contains 10 dahlia societies scattered over three

states (Idaho, Oregon and Washington) and British Columbia (Vancouver Island).

Should you access the PNDC website: http://pndcdahlia.com/ you would find a

listing of the societies making up the PNDC, as well as Conference history, show

results, pictures and much more.

You are welcome to contact me about any of the above via my email:

mollieu@q.com

Max Ollieu

Sister Dahlia Societies Representative

Portland Dahlia Society

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

KIAMA SHOW Judge – Alan Strachan (Goulburn) 23rd January 2009 AWARD CULTIVAR EXHIBITOR Best in Show Kenora Jubilee (82) Ian Townsend Decorative Brian R (81.5) Highland Dahlias Cactus Kenora Jubilee (82) Ian Townsend Ball Downham Royal R. Mercer & L. Pasfield Pompon Mi Wong Highland Dahlias Special Class Higgo Lacy (Fimbriated Cactus) 1st Highland Dahlias Flower of the Year 2nd Ian Townsend Championship : 1st Highland Dahlias 243.5 : Hamari Accord (81.5), Kenora Challenger (80.5), Brian R (81.5) 2nd Highland Dahlias 237.5 3rd Ian Townsend 233.5 There were 8 exhibitors and approximately 190 vases. Judges comments : There were 7 entries in the Championship class. Despite the hot trying conditions of the past week or so there were some top exhibits and the exhibitors are to be be truly congratulated on their efforts. Kiama is also to be congratulated on their new pavilion which will prove to be the envy of many other societies.

BERRY SHOW Judge – Stephen Astill (Berkeley) 30th January 2009 AWARD CULTIVAR EXHIBITOR Grand Champion Hillview Iceberg Highland Dahlias Decorative Hillview Iceberg Highland Dahlias Exhibition Cactus Freelancer Highland Dahlias Waterlily Red Velvet Highland Dahlias Pompon Willow Night Highland Dahlias Other Type Dahlia Alloway Candy (Stellar) Highland Dahlias Special Class Higgo Lacy (Fimbriated Cactus) 1st Highland Dahlias Flower of the Year 2nd Highland Dahlias Championship : 1st Highland Dahlias 239 : Hillview Iceberg (81), Hamari Accord (80), Jan Lennon (78) 2nd Highland Dahlias 3rd Morgan & Dawes There were 3 exhibitors and approximately 114 vases.

NOWRA SHOW Judge – Fred Stralow (Sydney) 6th February 2009 AWARD CULTIVAR EXHIBITOR Best in Show Hamari Accord (84) Highland Dahlias Reserve Champion Bracken Sarah (80) Highland Dahlias Decorative Bracken Sarah (80) Highland Dahlias Cactus Hamari Accord (80) Highland Dahlias Waterlily Peggy Highland Dahlias

Ball Downham Royal Robert Morgan Pompon Mi Wong Highland Dahlias Any Other Type Aitara Conference Highland Dahlias Special Class Higgo Lacy (Fimbriated Cactus) 1st Highland Dahlias Flower of the Year 2nd Highland Dahlias Championship : 1st Highland Dahlias (244) : Hamari Accord (84), Hillview Iceberg (78), Bracken Sarah (82) 2nd Robert Morgan There were 3 exhibitors and 80 exhibits. Judges comments : The day was a scorcher in the high 30’s°C. Fortunately the flower show and pavilion was air conditioned which stood the flowers in good stead not to mention the Judge, Stewards and Exhibitors also. The three exhibitors put on a great show with quality blooms. Of the other main horticulture sections, the roses were way down compared to previous years and the vegetables were outstanding.

KANGAROO VALLEY SHOW 13th February 2009

Judge – Elwin Notley (Blacktown) AWARD CULTIVAR EXHIBITOR Decorative Brian R (79) Highland Dahlias Cactus Hamari Accord (78) Highland Dahlias Pompon Mi Wong (78) Highland Dahlias Special Class Higgo Lacy (Fimbriated Cactus) 1st Highland Dahlias Flower of the Year 2nd Highland Dahlias Championship : 1st Highland Dahlias (233) : Hamari Accord (78), Kenora Challenger (77). Mi Wong (78) 2nd Highland Dahlias, 3rd Robert Curll There were approximately 100 vases of dahlias mainly be Highland Dahlias.

BEGA SHOW 13th February 2009

Judge – John Woodfield (Canberra) AWARD CULTIVAR EXHIBITOR Grand Champion Vera’s Elma Brad Ford Decorative Vera’s Elma Brad Ford Cactus Reg Kappler Beryl Schaefer Waterlily Kelgai Ann Brad Ford Other Type Dahlia Cornel (Ball) Beryl Schaefer Championship : 1st Brad Ford : Vera’s Elma, Reg Kappler, Karras 150, Kelgai Ann 2nd Beryl Schaefer : Como Polly, Reg Kappler, Cornel, Linda Harris 3 Exhibitors, approximately 75 vases. Flowers were reasonably good considering the dry conditions.