Hybridizers Erik and Gerda Juul

An elderly couple standing in front of a colorful flower garden, smiling with arms crossed. The woman has curly blonde hair and wears sunglasses and a light blue knitted top. The man has white hair, glasses, and wears a light blue and white striped shirt.

Gerda and Erik Juul have introduced nineteen hybrids into ADS.  Describing Dahlia hybridizing in their own words, we can sense the perseverance required to create these 21 beauties:

“The idea of creating a new dahlia is a very satisfying aspect of gardening. It is a bit like gambling: you have to know when to hold ’em and know when to fold ’em. They are all going to be pretty when they are yours, but pretty is not good enough; you have to be tough when judging your own. We have discarded thousands of seedlings and kept 26; five of which no longer exists. The favorite is always the newest, but it is very difficult to pick one of the remaining 21. Like choosing one child over the other.”

These 21 new introductions include many Dahlia forms: FD, ID, IC, WL, SC, S, MS, O, CO.  And the colors of these hybrids are as varied as they are dazzling.

Yellow cactus style dahlia flower among green leaves.

Gerda Juul  BB-SC-LB Y/OR  1980

Their first introduction was in 1980, and in honor of Gerda, Erik named it “Gerda Juul”:

White flower with a yellow center and pointed petals.

Juul’s Star, a white Orchid form won the 1983 Lynn Dudley medal

Close-up of a maroon flower with white-tipped petals and a yellow center, surrounded by green leaves.

Astrid Siersen CO PR 1983

A close-up of a dark red and pink flower with a yellow center, blurry green background.

Ricky Juul CO DR 1983

The Juul's introduced three new varieties in 1983:

Red flower with yellow center and multiple petals.

Erik The Red CO R awarded the Lynn Dudley Medal 1984

Close-up of a pink and purple dahlia flower with dewdrops on petals, surrounded by green leaves.

Aksel Juul M FD BI PR/W

In 1984 the Juuls introduced two new varieties:

A close-up of a white flower with a yellow center and a pinkish ring around the center.

Joshua Juul S LB W/PR 1989

Close-up of a light purple dahlia flower with darker purple center petals.

Helene Juul WL LB L/W 1989

Pink flowering plants with long, spiky petals in a vase.

Grandma Juul B IC DP 1989

Three more beauties to round out the 1980s:

Close-up of a vibrant pink and orange dahlia flower with layered petals.

Bird Nest A IC PK 1990

A purple and yellow flower with large petals and a yellow center.

Juul’s Cosmos S L 1993

Close-up of a white dahlia flower with yellow and purple center, dark green foliage in the background.

Juul’s Lotus WL W 1998
Awarded the Lynn B. Dudley medal

A close-up of a flower with pinkish-white petals and a bright yellow center.

Matthew Juul MS DR OR/dr 1996
Awarded the Derrill W. Hart medal
and the Lynn B. Dudley medal

Yellow and orange flowers blooming among green leaves in a garden

San Francisco Sunrise BB ID OR 1998
A nice tribute to our beloved city.

Through the 1990s Erik and Gerda introduced five new cultivars:

Decorative flower arrangement with yellow and pink flowers in a silver bowl, flanked by two candle holders with lit white candles.

Juul’s Allstar – O DR, 2001.
Awarded the Evie Gullickson Medal

Close-up of a pink and white dahlia flower with a yellow center against a dark background.

Camilla L B ID LB 2002

Yellow flowers in a black pot on a decorative saucer.

Another creation in 2005
Matt Too MS Y

Yellow flower with multiple petals, surrounded by green foliage.

Juul’s Buttercup S Y 2002

A white pompom-like flower with a purple center, set against green foliage.

Juul’s Pearl  MB W 2006

Close-up of a purple dahlia flower in full bloom

Juul’s Amethyst M BA PR 2005
Lynn B. Dudley medal

Close-up of a colorful daisy flower with yellow, pink, and red petals and a yellow center

2007 introduction
Juul’s Amber B SC BR
received the Lynn B Dudley Seeding Bench Award

Through the 1990s Erik and Gerda introduced five new cultivars:

Consistently, Gerda and Erik introduced new varieties throughout the eighties, nineties and oughts. Given that it takes hundreds to over one thousand sowed seeds to produce one cultivar accepted and registered with ADS, they labored hard and long, sowing probably more than tens of thousands of seeds  to produce these beauties for our enjoyment.

Besides doing the traditional tuber dividing, Erik and Gerda produced cuttings at home and assisted Lou Paradise producing cuttings for the DSC Sale until 2012.  The Juuls believed that cuttings are a very good method of preserving and reviving dahlias. They also planted the extra cuttings to be used as pot roots for the following year's propagation.

Although Gerda is still an avid dahlia grower, sadly Erik passed away in 2016. We know that Erik is still growing dahlia in greener gardens.

A man and a woman looking at a display of colorful flowers in vases.
Two people planting dahlias in a garden with soil and garden tools.