Kung Fu Kitty
Kung Fu Kitty
Kung Fu Kitty is one of those wonderfully strange dahlias that seems to have escaped from a botanical grimoire. Bred by Marjorie Thatcher and introduced in 2020, she is classified by the ADS as a Novelty Fully Double (NX), Dark Blend, with barbed, irregular petals that give the bloom a wild, almost creature-like texture.
The coloring falls into the dark blend category, with purple, burgundy, smoky rose, and pale contrasting tones appearing through the flower. What really sets her apart is the form: those pointed, barbed petals create a shaggy, animated silhouette unlike a standard decorative or cactus dahlia.
🌱 2027 Grow-Out
Kung Fu Kitty will arrive at Hedge & Alchemy in Spring 2027 and will be grown here for the first time that season. She will not be offered in our 2027 tuber sale.
📋 Cultivar Notes
- Breeder / Hybridizer: Marjorie Thatcher
- Year of Introduction: 2020
- Origin: USA
- Form: Novelty Fully Double (NX)
- ADS Classification Number: 7613 (Novelty Fully Double / Dark Blend)
- Bloom Size: Approximately 6 to 7 inches based on ADS seedling-bench measurements
- Color: Dark Blend, with purple, burgundy, smoky rose, and pale contrasting tones
- Cut Flower Status: Good. The unusual barbed form makes her especially valuable for artistic, gothic, and highly textural arrangements.
- Show & Exhibition Flower Status: Yes. Kung Fu Kitty has won novelty classes at ADS-affiliated shows and remains listed on the ADS Cream of the Crop.
🌱 Growing Notes
- Bloom: Large novelty flowers with irregular, pointed, almost barbed petals radiating from a fully double center. The strange silhouette is the main attraction.
- Plant Height & Habit: Mature height will be tracked during our 2027 grow-out.
- Growing Notes: A collector’s variety for anyone who loves unusual form over perfect symmetry. The bloom has enough texture to become the focal point of an arrangement without needing enormous size.
- Tuber Yield: To be tracked during our 2027 grow-out.