Do I Have A Bi-Color Dahlia? August 2024

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Up front, in the IBDWs section, I planted a Cornell Bronze Dahlia tuber that I started indoors in a small nursery pot.  I put the sprouted tuber in the ground in mid-June and now, two-months-later it is showing its very first blooms.   This dahlia suffered some rabbit damage early, so I put a chicken wire cage around it in hopes that it would grow up/out and have a big bloom season.  

That season of blooms is NOW upon us.  Below, you can see the first Cornell Bronze ball bloom tucked in below the top foliage.  There are more on the way.

Cornell Bronze Dahlia Bloom Below Foliage

But, something *else* is happening on this very same Dahlia plant.  For SOME REASON, I'm seeing a purple bloom about to open up - at the very top of the stalk.  Yes...purple dahlia.  On the same plant that is blooming those orange ball flowers.  See below - for a most-certainly purple bloom about to open up:

My dahlia has two color blooms - orange and purple.

What the what?  Is this a mutation?  A pollinator-caused result?  I have no idea, but I'll be watching this plant to see what else pops late this Summer.  I've been thinking about how to store my Dahlia tubers, but if I'm seeing a bi-color plant, my plans need to accelerate to ensure that I can capture it before Winter.

Location: Downers Grove, IL, USA

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