Formal Decorative form

David & Leone Smith, 2010

Chimacum Night

Chimacum Night is a burgundy-and-black formal decorative dahlia with blooms 3 to 4 inches across (ADS size M). Tubers sell out fast.

Chocolatey burgundy mahogany, classed dark red by DahliaAddict. Floret simply calls the blooms beautiful mahogany, and in the field they read like dark chocolate with a red wine glaze.

More burgundy & black dahlias
Introduced
2010
ADS size
M (Miniature, up to 4 inch blooms)
Bloom
3 to 4 inches
Height
not yet verified
Productivity
high

Why people hunt it

The Chimacum prefix points to Chimacum, Washington, the naming convention of breeders David and Leone Smith, though we found no source that pins Night to them directly. What the record shows is scarcity. It is nowhere to be found most seasons, sold out at Flowerwell, Shelbee Blooms, and Russells Mills, and it sits on Floret's market favorites list. Small dark decoratives are the workhorses of moody design palettes, and this one has the rare combination of near-black color and genuine field productivity. Supply flickers in and out at small farms, never at volume.

Growing notes, including the hard parts

DahliaAddict classes Chimacum Night as a miniature formal decorative in dark red, and Floret confirms the form with blooms up to 4 inches. It earns its keep in volume: Floret describes it as both striking and productive, blooming abundantly all season on tall, strong stems. Treat it like any miniature decorative: pinch, net, disbud, and keep cutting. Dark flowers hold their depth best with a little afternoon shade in hot climates. If you cannot find it, and you often cannot, Jowey Mirella covers the same dark merlot territory in a tighter ball and is stocked by the big Dutch suppliers, though it trades away the chocolate mahogany cast.

Sold out? Closest alternatives

No substitute is exact, and we say so in each profile. These are the varieties growers reach for when Chimacum Night is gone.

Sources and references

Some fields on this profile are not yet verified and are shown as such rather than guessed. See how we source.

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