Gallery Pablo
Gallery Pablo dahlias are a dwarf variety that is considered a border dahlia. The plant is busy, but only reaches about 12-18 inches in height. It seems to tolerate crowding by other plants, which is a desirable trait in a border dahlia where the gardener may choose to plant these close together (within 12 inches) to create a hedge effect in front of taller flowering plants. In the colder climate of the coast, the petals were more yellow with a pink outline and pink tips. Each petal had a fringed end that made it look fuzzy edged. A quick internet search shows that the plant has the ability to be mostly salmon pink with just a hint of yellow at the center. It’s possible that temperature influence on gene expression is the cause of the subtle differences our plants make, or it may be a genetic variant. We are quite taken with its color.
The vast majority of our plants came directly from Swan Island, and a handful came from friends. With utilizing the largest dahlias farm in the US and local friends, we avoided disease and were unaware of some of the shadier dealings in the dahlia world. When a Facebook advertisement came up for what we assumed was another major dealer in the Midwest, and with some significant personal obsession over a dahlia variety we could not get from our Oregon supplier, we placed an order for 3 tubers. We count ourselves lucky that we even got our order as that business appeared to have gone under in 2022 and did not send orders to many. It was shocking that we received substitutions, one of which was Gallery Pablo in place of Melody Allegro. The flower color is similar. By that time we had learned of gall, a bacterial disease that is seen in increased frequency partially due to the increase in tuber sales of imported tubers. As such, the three varieties we bough have gone into quarantine and will be closely monitored for a few years to make sure they don’t bring disease into our otherwise healthy patch.
Attributes of Gallery Pablo Dahlias
Height – 1.5 feet
Color – Yellow petals laced with pink at the tips
Bloom Size – 4″
Bloom Style – Waterlily
Bloom Time – ~90 days
