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  • General Dahlia Chat - 2025

BackyardBouquets_17 this is only my 3rd year growing seedlings, so I'm still experimenting and learning... last year I potted up seedlings in 4,5, and 6" diameter pots. When I went to plant, I planted the best, largest (bushiest, tallest, robust ones) at 12" apart in a prime location( they were planted in the ground still in their pot, to deter gophers). The best seedlings count was about 48 plants( top 26%). I continued along this strategy with planting the smallest, least robust seedlings(about 44 seedlings, bottom 23% ) at 4-5" apart.
One very interesting result was there was only one keeper(2%) of the least robust seedlings, while 5-6(12%) of the most robust seedlings were saved to grow another year. The ones in between, 62% of the 2024 seedlings(about 92 seedlings) were just average robustness at planting time, were planted 12" on center(drippers distance). Of those 62% "good" and "ok" seedlings, about 7-8( about 9%) were dug to grow another year. I can already see that some 2025 seedlings have genetically smaller, less robust growth habit. Those seedlings I'll give a special treatment(limited in ground space), by planting into 2" x 2.66" x 6" pots. I'll grow them in a tub and bottom water them. If any of them have great blooms, I'll plant them into the flower beds, at 12" on center.
Health........count.........spacing..........% saved to grow again
....Best.................48..................12".....................12%
....Good/OK.......92.................12"....................... 9%
....Sad/small......44.................4-5"....................... 2%

    I've been holding off on starting seedlings but after watching The program by Eugene and Rosie from River's Dahlias, I guess I don't have to hold off any more! I started a good number of my saved seeds today, since I have a green house to grow them out in. So exciting! What will I have show up this year in the seedlings!? Another month and they can start going outside on nice days....

    Bessie Says: "One very interesting result was there was only one keeper(2%) of the least robust seedlings, while 5-6(12%) of the most robust seedlings were saved to grow another year." Old timers say do not baby the seedlings and Dick Parshall of Clearview Dahlias takes this to the extreme. He purposefully under waters and under fertilizes the first year seedlings so that only healthy vigorous plants survive and many do not even bloom the first year. He carries the non bloomers over to a second year if he has enough time. I visited Dick's seedling patch and remember pointing to it for Margaret who thought they were just weeds.
    I visited AC Dahlias seedling patch and Ken Greenway grows them like we do and they were tall and healthy and I was able to select and mark a seedling for Ken to evaluate.
    Last year we planted everything at the normal spacing of 6 inches in the row and in double rows 6 inches apart and rows 4 feet apart. The first year garden last year was a "jungle" suitable for a Tarzan movie. I had to buy a machete to chop down the loser plants to get to the good ones. (you know that is a joke). Margaret hid in the garden secretly marking the good ones before I could see them and with the dense jungle foliage she was invisible.(mostly true). The difference was Margaret's watering the seedlings with a sprinkler. This year there was no T-tape allowed in "her" seedling patch(she generally says all seedlings are hers) . She used that "mickey mouse" little swirly sprinkler on top of a pole that she bought first at a local hardware store and replaced for last season with slightly better one. Our selection of "keepers" was way above average. Was this because of the sprinkler or because we are many generations into breeding dahlias? I believe it is we know how to breed good ones but giving every one a good chance to impress you by growing them well is a good idea too. Margaret can buy all the sprinklers she wants.

    First year plant probably not kept.

      Teddahlia I remembered this Clearview story when I planted the weaker seedlings 4-5" apart. I know how to grow big, beautiful, luscious Dahlia plants. Unfortunately, knowing means nothing if there is not action behind the thoughts. I'm guilty of lack of action(water/fertilizer ) when it comes to caring for my dahlias. Heavy on my mind is Water use, as water is always an issue in California as a limited resource.... I anticipate a knock on my door, or letter,(or husband) saying I'm using too much water this summer!

        Sprinklers...I like the kind Margaret uses. THose are what I used before we moved here and I never had problems with downy mildew because it washed the spores off the leaves.. (My opinion). Now we use the more ecologically sound drip tape and my dear husband gave away one of those old great sprinklers without asking me. I was not happy!

        The seeds I ordered from River's Dahlias germinated at 90% and they are looking very robust with their first sets of true leaves starting to open. I ordered seeds from two other farms, one sent beautiful seeds and had a germination rate of 85%, they're also looking lovely. The third farm sent seeds that were a mixed bag of solid healthy seeds, some that were quite shredded, and some just grey and chaffy. I sorted them into two "keep" piles of "yes" and "maybe". The better looking seeds had much higher germination rate and lovely cotyledons. Some of the scruffier seeds germinated but the little plants are definitely kind of sad. I'm planning on planting these new friends out 4 to 6 inches apart, but we'll see what they look like in 6-8 weeks!
        I will save my own seeds next year and now know what to look for in terms of seeds worth saving...Only open pollination this year. I'm sure I'll end up hand pollinating at some point, why not? 🙂

          At the Tuesday dahlia club meeting, Eugene Kenyon of Rivers Dahlias gave away seed packets. Noni got one and says on this forum that she is planting them very soon.

          I started them yesterday. They are in my greenhouse which is not very warm today but they are planted and watered and the lights are on....

          LoveLanguageDahlias hand pollination is very easy, but just takes a small bit of knowledge, time, diligence and luck. The more flowers you have the easier it is to be able to hand pollinate. When you're planting out this year, put plants you'd like to see crossed next to each other. That will greatly expedite the hand pollination process. Also, as advice on this forum has emphasized, plant like flower forms together. Like forms will best pollinate like forms.

              Bessie Thank you! It's cold up here on the coast of Maine - so I have plenty more time to plan which plants will go where. I love keeping records, so, that part of breeding won't be a problem. I also love research...so I read and made notes of all of the Triple Wren information on the seeds they're offering for sale, as well as writing down other mentions of good seed parents. I'm very grateful to all of the growers sharing so much knowledge here.

                Teddahlia
                So do you feel the sprinkler system is better than the t tape? I’m at the point I need to add more irrigation and was debating which is the best route to go. I have probably 1/4 acre or less that’s going to need something.

                  Te cost of water might be your determining factor. I'm not sure which system costs more to use but in an area where wells were running dry in late summer It is not a good thing having your neighbors see you in the act of watering....Even though they watered extensive lawns and we only watered our garden for a short timed period each day they were sure that WE were using up all the water in the system...(We shared the well among 4 households.) We tried to share the information about how drip tape worked with them but they were too sure of themselves to listen. (And we were there for 18 years before there was a summer when the well started going dry in late August) It was just one of the reasons we decided it was time to move on... It was really good tasting water and that I do miss! Supposedly it came from snow melt on Mt Rainier and ran in an underground river that came up under the Island. This neighbor was an engineer who knew these things...but did not understand drip tape.....He was old....

                  I have a surplus of about 1 yard of potting soil that was delivered. I have used this potting soil for my winter sowing, starting some seeds indoors with lights and filling my raised beds. Germination and growth of (non dahlia) seedlings started in potting soil seems perfectly fine to me. I might split the difference and start some dahlia seeds in potting soil and some in paper towels. If anyone has tried both methods which did you prefer?

                  "...start some dahlia seeds in potting soil and some in paper towels." No help here as we do some of both.

                  I started seeds with paper towels this year only because they are easier to move around (following the warmth). I heat exclusively with wood and it was helpful to be able to move them to a higher shelf or closer to the stove. (I actually gave them two days at the bakery where I work for a little boost...it was cold outside and my "grow room" aka living room, wasn't above 70 degrees.

                    LoveLanguageDahlias I have a friend in Canada who starts her pepper seeds indoors about this time of year. One year the power went out for several days so she had wood stove heat during the day but it wasn't warm enough at night to germinate pepper seeds. She ended up sleeping with the flat of pepper seeds on her stomach to supply the warm they needed to germinate. It worked. Just a suggestion.😁

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