Tauranga Jubilee is dahlia of 2018

The 2018 dahlia of the year – called Tauranga Jubilee. Photo: John McLennan.

The New Zealand Dahlia Society celebrates its 80th anniversary with a national show in Blenheim from February 17-18 and has chosen as its 2018 Dahlia of the Year a flower called ‘Tauranga Jubilee’.

To help celebrate the anniversary, a couple of South Island growers have made sure there has been a stock of Tauranga Jubilee - which, for reasons no one’s quite sure of, has dropped in popularity over the years and isn’t widely available - for NZ Dahlia Society members to plant. 

Back in February 1998 – the society’s 60th birthday – the national show was hosted by the Bay of Plenty Dahlia Circle (no longer in existence) and held in Tauranga.

An unnamed seedling bred by Elaine Fenton of the South Island was put into competition and won its class.

The flower went to the top table and was named Tauranga Jubilee by the well-known British dahlia grower, Dave Reid, who was visiting the show. 

Elaine Fenton’s success in hybridising began when she obtained seed from Cyril Higgo, a fimbriated dahlia specialist in South Africa.

She later acknowledged Cyril by naming what has become one of the most recognisable large fimbriated dahlias in New Zealand in his honour. Three of her other dahlias are still grown and exhibited in this country – Kaka Beacon, Kaka Copper Queen and Kaka Lindy Lou.

Elaine served the national society for many years, including on the national management committee and as South Island secretary. She is a long-standing member of Christchurch and Districts Dahlia Club and in 2001 received the prestigious National Dahlia Society of New Zealand silver lapel badge.

Now living in aged care in Christchurch, Elaine still enjoys dahlias.


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