Cornel

Cor and Nellie Geerlings of Heemstede in the Netherlands bred Cornel and named it for themselves, Cor plus Nel. The better supported introduction year is 1994, though 1982 also circulates. Summer Dreams captured its standing: ask flower farmers to list their ten most reliable dahlias and many will include Cornel. That is the whole legend. No famous photographer made it a star and no wedding trend carried it; growers did, season after season, by reordering it. Demand still outruns supply, with Triple Wren, Summer Dreams, and Flowerwell all showing sold out stock. Its bronze sport, originally called Sheila and now sold as Cornel Bronze, brought the same dependable habit to a muted bronze that designers use where red would shout.

Cornel is the definition of a workhorse. Triple Wren and Flowerwell describe a super productive plant with strong, straight stems and an excellent, long lasting cut flower; farm listings put height anywhere from 30 to 48 inches. Blooms are small balls around 3 to 3.5 inches, the size that recipe driven florists order by the armload. There is no documented vice in our sources. It is not hunted for rarity so much as for reliability, which is why it sells out anyway. Pinch at 8 to 12 inches, give it standard staking, and it will run until frost. It suits production cut flower farms first and beginners second, since a first year grower gets the encouragement of a variety that simply works. For the same engine in a muted metallic shade, its sport Cornel Bronze delivers, though it runs much taller and needs firmer staking.