Dahlias bloom on Canada’s Spring Flowers stamps

By Denise McCarty

Canada Post’s 2020 Spring Flowers issue is dedicated to dahlias.

On March 2, Canada Post is issuing a se-tenant (side-by-side) pair of nondenominated permanent-rate (currently 92¢) Dahlia stamps in a booklet of 10, coil of 50 and souvenir sheet of two. The stamps in the souvenir sheet have traditional water-activated gum, and the others are self-adhesive.

Canada Post describes the stamp designs as depicting “dahlias in striking shades of fuchsia and orange.” One stamp shows a single dahlia bloom, and the other features three. Two dahlias are pictured in the selvage of the souvenir sheet.

Carolyn Cutt, president of the Hamilton and District Chrysanthemum and Dahlia Society, is quoted in the January-March issue of Canada Post’s Details magazine for collectors, “Canadian gardeners enjoy dahlias for their longblooming, show-stopping appeal, and because they provide a nectar source for pollinators until winter.”

Found in almost every color except blue, dahlias are members of the Asteraceae family.

Although grown in Canada and the United States, the dahlia is native to Mexico and Central America. In 1963, it was named as Mexico’s national flower.

Canada Post began its Spring Flowers series in 2010 with nondenominated permanent stamps depicting African violets (Scott 2376-2378).

The other flowers featured so far are sunflowers in 2011 (Scott 2440-2444), daylilies in 2012 (2526-2530), magnolias in 2013 (2621-2625), hybrid tea roses in 2014 (2727-2731), pansies in 2015 (2809-2813), hydrangeas in 2016 (2896-2900), daisies in 2017 (2976-80), lotus flowers in 2018 (3087-3091), and cape jasmine gardenias in 2019 (3166-3170).

Lionel Gadoury, Umaymah Motala and Malika Soin of the Toronto-based design firm Context Creative designed the new Dahlia stamps and souvenir sheet, using photographs by Veronique Meignaud.

Canada Bank Note printed the stamps and souvenir sheet by lithography. Five colors were used to print the stamps in booklets of 10 and the souvenir sheet, and six colors were used for the coil stamps.

The stamps also differ in size, with the booklet stamps measuring 26 millimeters by 32mm, and the coil stamps 20mm by 24mm. The souvenir sheet is 127mm by 73mm.

The quantities printed were 600,000 booklets of 10, 130,000 coils of 50, and 70,000 souvenir sheets.

Canada Post serviced 7,000 first-day covers with a Bloomfield, Newfoundland, pictorial cancel showing a drawing of a dahlia bloom. Three dahlias are depicted on the cachet.

The Canada Post product numbers are 414129111 for the booklet of 10, 404129117 for the coil of 50, 404129145 for the souvenir sheet, and 414129131 for the FDC.

Canada Post stamps and related items are available online. Stamps and FDCs are available by mail order from Canada Post Customer Service, Box 90022, 2701 Riverside Drive, Ottawa, ON K1V 1J8 Canada; or by telephone from the United States or Canada at 800-565-4362, and from other countries at 902-863-6550.

They also are available from many new-issue stamp dealers, and from Canada Post’s agent in the United States: Interpost, Box 400, Hewlett, NY 11557.

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