The second Japanese dahlia in my sale is Kyokujitsu-shoten. When you see this one, you can tell it’s not from around here. The leaves are different and so is the form of the bloom. Somewhere between a waterlily and an informal decorative, this dahlia has large waterlily-like blooms at 15cm which partly close at night. Fuschia-pink with white tips on a very vigorous 1.5m plant. Like all waterlilies I’ve ever grown, I give this one a shot of phosphorus to keep those stems strong. This cultivar gives lots of tubers but they’re long and thinner so work carefully when digging them up. Along with my two seedlings, this is the initial introduction of Kyokujitsu-shoten to the Canadian market.