I love growing things from seed , but have never tried growing dahlias this way . Last October, I was digging up and cleaning up my dahlia bed out at the farm. I wondered if any of the dried, ugly flowerheads had any seeds in them….so I pocketed one . Just one. It was from a big peachy orange cactus type called ‘Wynn’s Sensation’ , possibly my favourite. I remember picking through the chaff ( = dried crap) and thinking the odd bit might be a seed and putting it aside. Those ‘odd bits’ looked like thin, hooked, slightly anorexic sunflower seeds. I found ten of them . This spring I sowed the seeds together in an 8″ pot in my heated greenhouse. I got 8 big seedlings and planted them in a row in the sun…. and look what I got ! Every one of them is fabulous ! I am not a qualified dahlia judge…. but I am keeping them all for sure. Quite a different story than with my hundreds of daylily seedlings. Or my orchids (still waiting to bloom after 11 years) . These dahlias are really nice . They are upright and strong , with very long stems. Needless to say, very soon I am going to scrounge for more dried flowerheads , and grow lots more dahlias from seed !! Go and check your plants right now, and don’t cut off every spent flower.
The bees have left some special gifts for you if you want them.
