Cor Geerlings, 2008
Isabel
Bred by Cor Geerlings in 2008, Isabel is a color-shifting lavender ball dahlia, blooms 3 to 4 inches on plants 36 to 60 inches tall.
This one changes, and every source says so in different words. Idlewild sees lilac with flashes of tangerine orange and notes every bloom is different; Fivefork calls it a dusty lavender rose and mauve with bronzy undertones, not quite purple but not pink either; Summer Dreams describes chameleon lavender with deep dusty rose toward the center and says it can throw anything from mauve rose to salmon; Heirloom Soul reads it as deep pink purple. The ADS files it as lavender. Treat that as the center of a moving target rather than a promise.
More lavender & purple dahlias- Hybridizer
- Cor Geerlings
- Introduced
- 2008
- Form
- Ball
- ADS size
- BA (Ball, over 3.5 inches)
- Bloom
- 3 to 4 inches
- Height
- 36 to 60 inches
- Bloom season
- mid season
Why people hunt it
Cor Geerlings introduced Isabel in 2008 and the ADS classifies it 6008. The Geerlings name runs through the Dutch ball dahlia trade, and the same family stands behind Cornel, one of the most widely grown red balls in the world. A commonly repeated claim that Isabel is a sport of Ivanetti could not be verified on any source we reached, so it is not stated here. What is verifiable is the color behavior, which is the reason people buy it: a ball dahlia that reads lilac one week and salmon the next is doing something most of the catalog cannot.
Growing notes, including the hard parts
Isabel is a ball dahlia grown for a color that will not sit still. Summer Dreams files it under coral, Idlewild under lilac, and both are describing the same plant honestly, because the flower shifts through the season and bloom to bloom. That makes it a gift for anyone arranging by feel and a problem for anyone matching a swatch, so growers filling a specific order should cut and check rather than trusting the catalog photo. Blooms run 3 to 4 inches, over 3.5 by the ADS band. Height reports run from 3 feet at Fivefork to 5 feet in Idlewild's field, with Heirloom Soul at 54 to 60 inches, so plan tall and stake. Summer Dreams puts it in mid season. Pinch at 12 inches.
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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