Santa Cruz Dahlias ยท Santa Cruz, California
Kristine Albrecht
Kristine Albrecht breeds dahlias on a reclaimed quarter acre in Santa Cruz, California, a half mile from the beach. She started growing dahlias in 2006 and has since named more than fifty varieties, every one carrying her initials in the KA's prefix. Her giant white KA's Khaleesi won the American Dahlia Society's Derrill W. Hart Medal in 2018, and her site lists further ADS medals for KA's Cloud, KA's Papa John, and KA's Tiny E. With Brion Sprinsock she wrote a step by step guide to hybridizing dahlias from seed that growers widely treat as the book on the subject. She does not sell tubers herself. Licensed partner farms such as Stonehouse Dahlias, Triple Wren Farms, Stone Hollow Farmstead, and Flowerwell propagate and sell the KA's line, which is why the varieties sell out farm by farm rather than from one source.
- Santa Cruz Dahlias, about
- Floret, farmer-florist interview
- American Dahlia Society, 2018 awards
- Triple Wren Farms, legacy hybridizers
Profiled varieties
KA's Khaleesi
A clean white giant, ADS class AA ID WH. Petals stay crisp and bright rather than creamy, which is part of why florists chase it for big white installation work.
KA's Cloud
White brushed with a soft blush, the cream-and-pink wedding palette that made it famous. The blush reads stronger in cool weather and fades toward clean white in heat.
KA's Mocha Maya
Cream to soft pink washed with muted tan mocha tones, the signature smoky look of the Mocha line. The dusty cast is what florists prize for moody, neutral arrangements.
KA's Boho Peach
Peachy pink that opens warm coral, with the back petals fading as the bloom ages. The two-tone shift from coral to softer peach gives arrangements depth.
KA's Bella Luna
White with a lavender blush in cool climates, shifting to all white in warm climates and late season. The color is weather-dependent, which is the variety's signature trick.
KA's Papa John
White, ADS class A ID WH, listed by Crazy4Dahlias as A ID WH. A clean large white in the same family as Khaleesi but at a more manageable size.
KA's Tiny E
Glowing fuchsia, the bright, saturated tone that defines Albrecht's Bright Series. The color is the point, vivid and clear where many small dahlias go muddy.
KA's Champagne
Buttercream and lemon-blush, a cream bloom with a soft blush at the petal base. The pale champagne tone is exactly the muted neutral wedding designers reach for.
KA's Mocha Jake
Pale pink, the softest tone in the Mocha line. A quiet, dusty pink that sits easily alongside the cream and tawny shades of its siblings.
KA's Mocha Jo
Blush pink with tawny parchment accents, the most layered color in the Mocha line. The parchment edges give each bloom a soft, antique cast.
KA's Rose Quartz
Medium pink with a darker center and a white highlight on the central petals. The light center against the deeper pink gives blooms a lit-from-within look.