Does it have too many petals for a waterlily? 7 rows of mature petals? The flower in the picture meets that criterion. Will the second and third flowers ? Posting a picture of the first flower on a first year seedling only proves the plant had one nice flower. Posting the first flower of the year of a second year seedling is 10 times better and the first flower of third year flower is proof of the pudding. Remember however, pretty pictures are a dime dozen while really nice dahlias are rare. Lots of things are unknown but it is about 4 feet tall right now. Does it make tubers? Does it catch virus? Will the flowers all look like this or will they go solid or some combination of solid or variegated? Worst case: will a gopher eat it before we dig it? Did we put the marking tape on the wrong stalk? Posting pictures of first year seedlings is something we do occasionally but when they make it to the second year, I may bombard you with pictures.
