2025 Seedlings

Bessie · 2025-04-01T16:33:09+00:00

This year, 2025, has been challenging to get healthy Dahlia seedlings! Still trying to figure out the many ways I've gone wrong. I dumped about 30-40 seedlin...

Bessie

SteveM thanks for the lesson on green centers!

Teddahlia

Green centers are tolerated more by some people. I just cruised through the seedlings and was disappointed to see green centers on some that did not have them last year. Did I miss them or has the hot weather caused them? Probably a bit of both. Open centers can be fickle too. One of our waterlilies that we released had "weak" centers. Initially, we were hesitant to sell it but when a big time cut flower grower saw it he wanted it and said he had no issue with the center. It turned out that he was right and it has good centers most of the time.

calico20hill

Bessie Thanks for confirming my opinion!

Justafewdahlias

Mary Jo & seedling of Mary Jo……Mary Jo is so much better. I think them being similar color highlights this even more! So far the other 2 seedlings from this same cross have been solid yellow and bright neon pink

Teddahlia

Steve Lamb uses Mary Jo for breeding. One of his new intros is a seedling. We grew it many years ago and always had problems with slightly open centers. It used to be one of the most popular basket flowers and won lots of prizes.

mocullen35

Question

I've read/heard seedlings need to be grown 3 seasons. What about seedlings that never had a chance to bloom the first year, made tubers, overwintered in the ground, bloom second year, are keepers- are they technically 2 year seedlings or do they need another two years to sort themselves out? Do the flowers have to bloom for the genes to "settle"? Pictures of 2024 seedlings that finally bloomed in 2025.

Justafewdahlias

[unknown]
I like the look of Mary Jo but also that it is early & “compact” but still long enough stems to use for cutting. However, I haven’t grown dahlias very long so still many more to explore!

Teddahlia

Age of seedlings: Dahlias sometimes but certainly not always need a year or two to grow consistently. A second year seedling in our experience will be consistent as far as the flowers about 90% of the time. Differences between first and second year plants are many times things that were in the first year plant but not observed or ignored. So, as far as flowers, you will know how good it is the second year. However, disease resistance takes another year or two to be evaluated. Some dahlias just plain decline heath wise in the third year(or second year too) . Some conservative breeders wait until the 5th or 6th year to introduce a flower. Note: People are sometimes eager to name a flower after someone. Be sure it is a good one before you do so. If you name flowers not after someone and you have a special name perhaps wait also. One old time breeder named them when they were first year flowers but he was incredibly clever about good names and did not use people names. He said he could not remember numbers and could remember names. We are the opposite and some flowers are still numbers many years later but never got released. One of our is named 11-104.

old seedling

Teddahlia

Picture of a 2024 seedling that is doing well in 2025.

SteveM

Nice blush.

mocullen35

I was worried the heat would mess with this one so I cut it early. Not completely 100% on seed parent. Probably KAs Mocha Jake. My germ rate with those was really high. Sparkles and picotee. Is this an in curved semi cactus?

Bessie

mocullen35 thanks for the info on the good germination rate of KA's Mocha Jake.

Bessie

First 2025 seedling that's nice. It's as tall (approximately 4') as it's seed parent 24312, but not as bushy and not branching as much at this point. I think it's around 4".
25-312-113

Bessie

This is a second year seedling. It will be interesting to see if the majority of the blooms are not clockface! The pollen parent may have been Sweet Nathalie. Plant is over 3' tall and the bloom is 3-4".
24301

Bessie

24211 is a second year seedling from seed parent Hollyhill Daydream. Although this plant may not be a "keeper", I'm thinking I'll cross it back to a waterlily to see if it produces nice seedlings. I keep forgetting to write down the size of the bloom, but it's around 3".

BarryO

[unknown]

Three years of bloom production is required to establish "stability". If there are no blooms in year #1, you still have 3 years to go.

Juliarugula

[unknown] I love 24-312-123! So soft and beautiful!

Teddahlia

Four waterlily pictures one has been introduced.

SteveM

Teddahlia one has been introduced.

It's one on the top row, I'm going to guess the second one (top right).

Teddahlia

There are only 4 of them and you have selected two of the wrong ones. Which has the best WL form?

Bessie

Teddahlia it's Hollyhill Daydream, the bottom right. For weeks I've been staring at it and the two similar seedlings I'm growing 😊.
.. I'm not afraid to speak out... and be wrong.

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