Dahlia Blooms - Burlesca, Creme de Cognac, Blue Wish and More - July 2026

I previously posted a photo and details of our first Wizard of Oz Pompon dahlia bloom from our backyard and talked about how it signaled the coming bloom season.  

With mid-July arriving, a bunch of the dahlias are beginning to really pop-off.  This post is going up in mid-July, but these photos are from July 6th.  

First up is Burlesca.  One of the Burlesca dahlias planted in the "South Sun Wall" (also known as the sideyard garden) has the first few blooms fully opened.  Despite my hesitancy, I keep trying to 'cut deeply' the first few flowers to try to compel the plant to put out taller stems.  In this case, the first two came as a set.  See below.   These are hard to describe color-wise.  They are pink.  Sort-of.  They're also purple.  And a little peach down the sides.  Longfield says: "This adorable little dahlia may look pink at first glance, but what makes Burlesca so special is the way it also pulls in hints of peach, burgundy and violet."  They're TIGHT, small flowers.  I really like them. 

Burlesca Dahlia

Another bloom that is new (to me) is the Blue Wish dahlia.  This might be my favorite of the bunch early this growing season.  See below for the first bloom.

Blue Wish is a Waterlily dahlia and this is a large bloom.  Pale purple and white.  It looks painted.  I love it.  This one is planted under the Triumph Elm tree in the front yard.  

Blue Wish Waterlily Dahlia in Bloom

Next is something that appears to be a mistake.  Or a mis-marked dahlia.  I planted some Rip City dahlias that came in a combo pack from Costco (via Longfield Gardens) and while the color of this bloom is a dark maroon (like Rip City), the petals are cactus  dahlia petals.  Rip City is a decorative dahlia.  It is a stunner, but it is NOT Rip City.  This is planted in the Pizza Oven Bed West.  See below:

Tamburo Cactus dahlia

Based on looking around the Longfield Gardens site, I think this might be Tamburo Cactus dahlia.  

Next up is another Wizard of Oz dahlia bloom with pink petals and a yellow center.  These are bubble-gum colored and lovely. 

Another new (to me) dahlia that I'm growing this year is Creme de Cognac. From Longfield Gardens.  I planted this in the Pizza Oven Bed East.  This is another Waterlily dahlia.  Longfield Gardens says: 

Be among the first gardeners to grow this new dahlia here in the US. Creme de Cognac has the same dark accents that make Crème de Cassis so stunning, but this variety is a warmer blend of butterscotch, copper, peach and rusty red. The 3-4" flowers are perfectly formed and a must for fall arrangements.

They certainly are 'fall-like'.  Nat said they almost look like mums.  These are on short stems and the plant is shorter than most, despite blooming.  Floret says they're 'on the shorter side'.  That checks out.  

Dahlia ‘Creme de Cognac’

And last is a mystery (to me) dahlia. 

In the Pizza Oven West bed, there is a dark-foliage dahlia that I *thought* was Creme de Casis dahlia. But, it is NOT. It appears to be a 'single dahlia' and not a collarette. At least with this first bloom there is no interior 'collar' set of petals.  See below for this dark pink bloom. 

I didn't order nor plant any SINGLE dahlias.  The dark foliage is the tell, but I'm not sure what this one is named.  I'll let more blooms arrive before trying to figure out what this really is named.

Aside from Wizard of Oz, the rest of these are new (to me) varieties.  Is that an interesting pattern?

I'll observe the blooming habits of the rest of the tubers and see if anything else interesting plays out - both in terms of plant vitality and the volume of flowers.