Goalia Rossa

Dahlia

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'Baldavisun' (Dahlietta Violet Sunburst)

Summary: 'Goalia Rossa' has a shorter plant with shorter leaves and deeper incisions of the leaf blade margin than 'Baldavisun'. 'Goalia Rossa' has 8 to 15 ray florets per flower head whereas 'Baldavisun' has 8. The flower head of 'Goalia Rossa' is smaller in diameter with shorter ray forets than those of 'Baldavisun'. The collar segments of 'Goalia Rossa' are white with violet along the margins while those of 'Baldavisun' are white with a yellow streak in the centre.

Description:

PLANT: upright to rounded bushy growth habit
STEM: medium green, no anthocyanin colouration

LEAF: simple type, 2.2:1 length/width ratio, medium green on upper side, wings on petiole present, few and moderate to deep incisions on margin, smooth or very weakly rugose texture on upper side, raised veins on upper side

FLOWER HEAD: weak anthocyanin colouration of the peduncle, positioned at the same level to moderately above foliage, attitude relative to peduncle ranges from approximately right angle to moderately acute, collerette type, one coloured, purple colour group, 8 to 15 ray florets per flower head, collar segments moderately shorter than ray florets
RAY FLORET: 1.1:1 length/width ratio, distal half is weakly reflexed, cross-section at mid-point of inner ray florets is strongly concave in U-shape, cross-section at mid-point of outer ray florets is weakly concave in U-shape, lateral margins at middle are slightly revolute, dentate tip, even colour distribution, dark purple red with darker tones on upper side, purple with whitish streaks on lower side, ray florets and collar segments are different colours
COLLAR SEGMENT: white with violet margins
DISC: medium diameter in relation to flower head, yellow before and at anther dehiscence

Origin & Breeding History: 'Goalia Rossa' was developed as part of a planned pedigree breeding program by the breeder, Pim Kaagman, of Goldsmith Seeds Europe B.V. in Andijk, The Netherlands. It originated from a cross made in September 1999 between 'DT-79-1' as the female parent and 'DU-43-1' as the male parent. In May 2002, 'Goalia Rossa' was selected based on its flower colour, flower form and plant growth habit.

Tests & Trials: Trials for 'Goalia Rossa' were conducted in a polyhouse during the summer of 2007 at BioFlora Inc. in St. Thomas, Ontario. The trial included 15 plants per variety. All plants were grown from rooted cuttings and transplanted into 15 cm pots on May 10, 2007. Observations and measurements were taken from 10 plants of each variety on July 27 and August 8, 2007. All colour determinations were made using the 2001 Royal Horticulture Society (RHS) Colour Chart.

Comparison tables for 'Goalia Rossa' with reference variety 'Baldavisun'

Plant height (cm)

Leaf length (cm)

Flower head diameter (cm)

Ray floret length (cm)

Colour of collar (RHS)

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Dahlia: 'Goalia Rossa' (left) with reference variety 'Baldavisun' (right)

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Dahlia: 'Goalia Rossa' (left) with reference variety 'Baldavisun' (right)