Judging Laciniated Dahlias
The tips of the ray florets on laciniated dahlias are split. The ideal definition says that the “majority of ray florets will be uniformly arranged with a split, twist, or curl that conveys an overall fringed or frilled effect.” Further, if the florets have a shallow notch and have little twisting, it “should not be classified as laciniated.” Thus, in addition to the usual Form requirements (Symmetry, Contour, Development, Trueness to Form, and Depth), there are rather specific requirements for the shape of the ray florets in a laciniated dahlia.
Those requirements are probably best treated as an important element of the Trueness to Form portion in the determination of the quality of the Form of the cultivar. It doesn’t fit in any of other categories.
What is the value of “Trueness to Form?” Please check page 40 of the Guide to Judging Dahlias! This page deserves a sticky note.
Consider the 2017 Trial Garden seedlings shown here. What do you think of them?
The dark red florets on the bloom at the top are dark enough that it is difficult to tell how deeply they are split. However, the color does make it pretty easy to see the gaps around the circumference of the bloom. Thus, even if the ray florets were to be deeply split and presented a fringed appearance, the Contour of the bloom would leave something to be desired.
The cross-sections of the pink and the white cultivars appear more uniform and round than the dark red one. What about the “split, twist, or curl that conveys an overall fringed or frilled effect” for those blooms? As usual, of course, we would want to be able to look at the backs and the sides of the blooms in order to make an informed decision.
Nevertheless, I suggest that the pink bloom shows more twist and curl than the white bloom. Do you agree?
What about the light blend? A fringed and frilled effect is readily evident, isn’t it?! At the same time, Contour on that one is not perfect, right? The gaps at 1 and 11 are pretty obvious.
Okay, how about the red bloom? I hope you agree that its Form comes closest to that ideal definition outlined above.
