Thanks Erin! In 2021 I grew dahlias from seed for the first time. The seed came with the Floret Discovering Dahlias book. Out of 15 seeds I successfully grew 14 plants. The seed was started in 3” pots and about 1.5 months after sowing when I was transplanting into the garden one had already started producing a baby tuber (about 2.5” long). At the end of the season, I dug up all the tubers and was able to cover the bottom of a wheelbarrow with all the clumps. I had great tuber production and some were very large. I have successful stored and regrew the tubers the past 2 seasons. I have one that produces 9” tubers! So cool! I’m addicted! Thank you for sharing your seed and wisdom with the world! 🌱🌸💗
OMG,,,I have been planting,,digging my dalias for years, and NEVER knew they seeded..now looking forward to next years adventure with the seeds, Thank you!
Thank you Erin for teaching the world for all future generations!! I treasure your support for other farmers, gardeners alike to succeed & continue learning!! Your kindness is greatly appreciated!! Your knowledge is soaking up. I love to learn more! Thank you God Bless!!
Just harvested my first seeds today because of your video! I let them dry out about a month ago when I saw this video and today I got to harvest them and put them in an envelope, so excited for spring
Very informative and your enthusiasm has spurred me on to try this for myself. Sooo looking forward to collecting the seeds for the first time ever and to see what surprises occur next summer. AS for giving them a name - that would also be a bit of fun 😊
Erin, thank you so much for all you do to bring beauty to the world! I have 4 plants I am saving the tubers from, and collecting seed that came from Floret seed. They are stunning and I am so thrilled to keep them going! Thank you!!!!!!!!!
Fellow PNW home gardener here. I have family that live in your area up there in the banana belt, beautiful part of WA. I love it that you hand out such great information. I will be using your knowledge for the first time this year trying my hand at saving and growing Dahlia seed. Thank you for your valuable time. Chuck Beavers
Thanks, Erin! I just discovered growing dahlias from seed a few years ago. I love it! The surprises that come in the blooms and plants are so exciting. Next step is to try saving my own seeds.
Thank you, Erin, for this fantastic tutorial on harvesting Dahlia seeds! 🌼💫 Dahlias truly are a delight to grow, with their vibrant colors and diverse flower shapes. Your video has been incredibly informative, breaking down the process of harvesting seeds versus using tubers, and explaining the steps to harvest the seed heads, dry them, and clean them. Can't wait to try this out in my own garden and add some more Dahlia magic to it! 🌸🌿Martha
Thank you for such a helpful video. You explained so well how to collect dahlia seeds. I grew dahlias for the first time this year, and I'm now going to try saving some seeds.😊
Thank you so much!! This was very helpful . It has made me very excited to start my seeds!! Something else to look forward to.... The garden just keeps on giving ❤
Just found you site. I am from Franklinton, NC. This was my mom's favorite flower. I need to start a few in her memory. Thanks for the tips. I really enjoyed your video.
You make me sooo excited to harvest them!! I can’t wait to try this. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. I never knew you could get seeds from dahlias. 👏👏👏❤️❤️❤️
Thank so much; i only just discovered your site, and it's now one of my 'favourites'. I bought my first dahlia tubers last year and i am hooked. The ones i bought were £3 - £4 each, and i bout about 18 of them; I concentrated on the collarette ones to amuse the bees, and it was love at first sight. From somewhere i ended up with a packet of Bishops children seeds; not knowing what to do I planted the seeds in a tray of compost, and now they have grown and been re-potted. Thanks to your comprehensive videos i can now proceed with confidence. My last year's dahlias were dug up and saved (with their name tags) overwinter in a shed. Typically the name tags dropped off and now I have to wait till they flower to see which is which. over next winter i shall leave them, in the ground -and this year's new tubers - and see how i get on. I live in Norfolk, England.
Thank you for all the valuable information that you give about what you are growing. Especially the Dahilia's. I tried growing some in a pot, but have found the ground workds so much better for me. Love the info on the seeds and I did start some from seeds and they came out beautiful. A soft reddish orange flower. I wil dig the tubers and plant next year. I opened up a small patch in my yard just for the fun of experimenting with them. Thanks,
I have had so much fun with the seeds I got from you this year. My Dawn Creek Blush is looking amazing. My Sangria Mix Celosia is not fully developed but I think 45 days of 95 degs. did not help. I hope to get some seed. I hope to save the tubers of my Shooting Stars Dahlias. thank you
So excited for the seed saving course!! I live in Florida and plant in the fall and again in winter. If I collect seeds from my fall seedlings, can I plant them right away? Or should I wait? Thank you, Erin!
Hi, @net_vranie! We have a free course launching tomorrow that covers how to dig, divide, and store dahlia tubers. The link to sign up is in the video description. We hope to have you join us!
I just received my first packet of dahlia seeds from you! Yayyy!!! I am so beyond excited to get these babies started!! I have one question…. I spend my winters in Florida, then head home to northern lower Michigan around mid April. My last frost date is roughly May 15th. It gets colder the closer I get to home and it takes us about a day and a half to get home. I’m wondering how those baby plants handle the chilly temps? They certainly will not freeze and will be safely stowed under the cover I have over the bed of my truck until we get home, then will go directly into my garage.
What a wonderful informative video. Thank you for sharing all your knowledge. I just wondered, Would it be true, that the longer you leave the heads on the plant, the more the seeds would mature ? or are they just already there and just need to dry out. Thank you from New Zealand x
Thank you so much for the knowledge and in the way you instruct and educate I actually can follow and I’m learning with every word that you speak. I did save Dalia Ines from last year and open petal variety. Does the flower that I will get depend on the other Dahlia’s in the area? I am going to sound dumb, but the pollen that pollinates the dahlia must come from another dahlia, correct a bee can’t land on a sunflower and pollinate my dahlia, and I end up getting a pink sunburst dahlia.? I know I sound ridiculous but that’s what a beginner I am, but I am anxious to learn.
I have a crazy question. I left my buds over winter out in my garden. Can I still use those seeds or are they bad? We had 2 weeks of a very cold winter and right now we have a cold snap. In between we had some warm weather in OH. And TFS your great video.
just a comment pls check your sound before you start it is always very low and difficult to ear.. Thank You for the tips on how to save the seeds. love it.
Hi, @gingerkuhn6603! Yes, you can save both. Plants grown from the tuber will come back true to the original variety, while the seeds will be their own new varieties - you never know exactly what you'll get. We're glad you enjoyed the video!
Hi Floret farms Thank you for sharing all your knowledge, i am aspiring to start a flower farm you have given me the confidence boost i needed. Quick question if i buy the discovering dahlias book from your do I get a token packet of dahlia seeds or no? Thank you in advance
Hi, @marthamcauliffe! We have no plans to sell tubers again at this time, but we are hoping to have seeds from our Dahlia Breeding Program available for sale early next year. If you're not already on our newsletter list, we'll be sharing more details about the sale there first.
Great information. Just wondering. You stated that the Dahlias from seeds will grow tubers and they will then look like the mother plant. What if you love the Dahlia that came from the seeds and you want to grow that specific one, how would you get tubers from that one (and not the mother plant)? Or are you saying that the tuber that comes from the "seed" Dahlia plant will be the mother plant and when you replant that tuber, it will form the same Dahlia plant that you got from the seed. I'm sorry if I'm making this more complicated. Thank you!
Since no one answered me, here's what I found after researching....Dahlia seeds form their own tubers (she did say that). The ones grown from seeds do not look like the mother plant (she said that too). You can only get ones that look like the mother plant if you have the tuber. Like Erin stated, if you love the plant that came from the seed Dahlia, you can save that tuber (because they will make tubers). I need to pay more attention. :)🤪
This is such a helpful video! Question about the frost. Will seeds be ruined in the pods if it frosts outside while they’re still drying on the plant? Is there anything you can do to keep them maturing if there’s a risk of frost? 🥶 thank you!
Hi, @laurennelson4785! A light frost won't hurt the seeds, but eventually, the plant will start to die off and seeds that aren't fully mature won't be viable. You could try using frost cloth to protect the plants from the frost to see if that buys you a little extra time. Let us know how it goes!
Do all dahlias create pods I deadheaded some of mine that were dead and turning black but think maybe I did it too early after they dried doesn’t look like they have seeds. We had so much rain I’m in virginia it was like they were rotting and dying on the plant I cut them off because they looked bad and wondering had I left them if they would of produced but think they got so wet they sort of went mushy and dark and we’re not viable
We had a freak frost free winter and for the first time I have thousands of tree Dahlia seeds. I have limited space and can only grow a few each year. Can I freeze the seeds for longer storage. How can I maximize their shelf life. Thanks
Hi @JulietCaldwell-hb2mv! It may take a little trial and error to figure out what works best with your specific varieties, but if you're careful you can remove some of the petals. Let us know how it goes!
I would think that the open faced, singles are better seed producers because they have more successful pollination. While as humans love the ball and pompoms, I am sure the pollinators find them more difficult to get down to the reproductive bits -- which is probably why they rot out more often than they produce seeds because they just didn't get insect pollinated. Plant breeding is so neat. I live in an area where coleus reseed themselves very successfully, and it is super fun to see what new varieties pop up. Also... you are really letting your pollinators down if you do not let your coleus go to flowering... bumblebees ADORE coleus flowers. I personally enjoy their long spires of blooms.
@rebeccacheung7624 Hi! You can try "milking" the seed heads - gently squeezing the pod to help get some of the excess moisture out. Depending on how far along they are, you could also try cutting them and bringing them into dry - you might find that there are already some viable seeds.
Mine are so wet! I have been milking them but I don’t know if there will be any viable seeds. Also can you wait till after the first freeze or do you have to collect the seeds before the freeze/frost.
Hi, @lindatweedie5700! A light frost won't hurt the seeds, but eventually, the plant will start to die off and seeds that aren't fully mature won't be viable.
Hi @cejanuary9378! Starting with a parent plant that has the traits you're looking for will give you the best results, but it's still a bit of a numbers game. Single-petal/open-center is a dominant trait in dahlias so those varieties are most often what you'll get when you grow from seed.
Hi, @WildflowerApiary! You're probably more likely to see traits from the mother plant, but the seeds still won't come back 100% true. Growing from tubers is the only way to make sure the variety comes back true to the original.
Hi, @jeffhunter407! Seeds are produced when pollen is transferred from one flower to another, so there are two parents (and sets of DNA), and genetics (dominant and recessive genes) will determine what the "children" look like. Tubers are genetic clones that grow from a part of a single parent plant.
I was going to ask some questions but I decided to read the comments first to see if anyone else has asked the questions, ( especially since this video was made almost a year ago) but I see that the questions were Never answered? Why ? You ask people to leave their questions in the comments but you don’t answer? Why ask people to if you can’t answer them?
