Will these seeds grow flowers that look like the dahlias that produced the seed?

Answer: No, not usually! Dahlias have 8 sets of chromosomes, which means they have some marvelous genetic diversity. The seeds from one “mother” seed pod might make flowers which all look dramatically different from each other depending on their pollen “fathers.” You can control the outcome of pollination somewhat by hand-pollinating and physically protecting a bloom from natural pollinators and/or by only growing certain forms in your garden. If you’re interested in learning more about this, Kristine Albrecht has written an amazing book on dahlia breeding.

Do dahlia seedlings bloom the first year?

Ohhh yes! Sometimes our seedlings bloom before our tuber-planted dahlias. They will get to be the size of a full grown dahlia plant.

Do dahlia seedlings make tubers?

Yes! Depending on their vigor, seedlings might make a small or even a huge tuber clump by the end of season. If you judge a seedling to be a “keeper,” you can harvest and store its tubers, then replant the following year to continue observing the blooms. We’ve written about how we decide to keep seedlings here at Triple Wren Farms if you’d like to know what goes into that decision..

All new dahlia hybrids come from dahlia seeds, and growing them is such an amazing adventure. ???? Wonder where to source amazing dahlia seeds? We recently re-stocked our online store!