Breck's

Open Links

Behind the Beauty:

Get to know the Breck’s family of growers and hybridizers.

Jozef Weyts

Dahlia Breeder

For more than 40 years, Belgian breeder Jozef Weyts has devoted himself to cultivating and improving dahlias. He lives and works in Zonhoven, a small town in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking region in northern Belgium. Jozef planted his first dahlia tubers in 1979, soon becoming captivated by the diversity and charm of ball and pompon forms.

He gradually expanded his dahlia collection through trades with neighbours, visits to garden centres and exchanges with growers abroad. By the 1990s, he had begun raising seedlings and selecting for traits that would become hallmarks of his work: strong stems, ideal bloom position, vigorous plants and perfectly formed ball-shaped flowers.

Jozef’s first introduction was a yellow cactus dahlia. When he learned the name he’d originally chosen already existed, he created the “Jowey” prefix instead—a blend of his first and last names. That prefix now identifies a celebrated series of more than 50 varieties. Among his best-known Jowey introductions are Winnie, Martina, Mirella, Linda and Nicky, all valued for their reliability and exceptional performance as cut flowers. Today, commercial growers across Europe and North America seek out his selections, and his dahlias continue to win awards and appear in shows worldwide.