CARL CHILSON

BB-ID-W 3101

Form: Informal Decorative   

Size: Small 4-6"

Color: White

Hybridizer: Les Connel

Introduction Year: 1998

December 4, 2023 Misfit Monday Post:  Today's Misfit Monday pick is CARL CHILSON!

For those who don't know, every Monday I choose a dahlia variety to highlight. I like to include as much as I can find about the bloom in my post. Sometimes I find out a lot, other times I don't. But I enjoy the search and most of all love to share my findings. I encourage others to do the same and I love to hear what others have found! The stories behind the dahlias are so fun to me. And their history is worth preserving.

Sadly my search on CARL CHILSON has left me still wondering. But I do have some theories. 1st is that it is a sport of CHILSON'S PRIDE, they are both BB sized Informal decoratives that look identical apart from color. And CHILSON'S PRIDE is hybridized by C, Chilson which I am pretty sure is Carl Chilson of Olympia, an individual who showed dahlias and is listed in many of the 1940s ADS bulletins. I also have a theory that said Carl Chilson is Carl Ross Chilson from Tumwater Washington (1901-1995) but I have no proof just a hunch by dates. If anyone has any more information on CARL CHILSON please comment or reach out. It is repeatedly one of my favorite whites to grow. And it pares well with many other blooms. There is something about the rounded wispy petals that just charms my heart. Can't wait to grow it again next year.

Also a side note C, Chilson has 4 introductions listed in the ADS classification guide: CHILSON'S PRIDE, LISA, PINK CLOUD, and TOMO......Curious if anyone has ever grown LISA? It looks a lot like a variety I grow called KORDESSA. Thinking they maybe one in the same. KORDESSA is very unique in the way it grows. Hoping to grow both these varieties side by side next year to compare.

UPDATE: CARL CHILSON was hybridized by Les Connel in 1998