Starting dahlia seeds

calico20hill · 2023-03-05T22:07:16+00:00

I am excited to see plants growing form Rock Run Ashley seeds I collected last year. I don't think I have tried seedlings from it before. I started quite...

Teddahlia

We have been germinating dahlia seeds for 30 years and always have had trouble with some mold. We are the wrong people to ask.

Bessie

Laia cinnamon sprinkled on the seeds germinating on paper towels or napkins helped keep mold down, but did not completely eradicate it. I don't know if it's my imagination, but cheap paper napkins seemed to grow less mold than paper towels.
After some research and experimenting, I don't think hydrogen peroxide is valuable for enhancing germination of Dahlia seeds. I've used a 5% hydrogen peroxide solution soak ( with a bit of table sugar) on Alstroemeria seeds, with incredible success.

MissyWeitzel

I've heard soaking them or spraying with a mild Chamomile tea brew helps but I have not tried it myself.

calico20hill

Laia I do not sprout on paper towels. I sprout directly in soil in small pots. If I get a lot I transplant the extras to other pots of soil. I do not get mold on my seedlings or other problems "paper towel starters" report. If a seedling looks wonky I pull it. They generally end up 4 to a pot and I transplant into the soil from there. Very large seedlings might end up 2 to a pot and be split into singles when planted.

DarcyD

I have a terrible mold problem here while sprouting seeds on paper towels. This year I’ve tried dunking in peroxide and water to kill the spores. That didn’t work. I am now using one big paper towel not in a baggie and it’s better but you have to be super careful not to let it dry out and there is still some mold. But it’s faster to check them. Then I tried in seed starting mix in shoeboxes with the lids on (mold started pretty severely). Then I switched to no lid and it was MUCH better. I give the sprouts a wiggle with a fondue fork (I also use this for pulling out my root riot cubes and it’s amazingly easy) and use tweezers to get them out of the soil. I like this method best so far. Roots are long and healthy with no discoloration.

Teddahlia

I had some success with hydrogen peroxide and paper towels. I used 8 to one solution for soaking the napkins(I use cut up big dinner napkins as they are finer grain and easier to remove sprouts) in sandwich bags loosely folded . Mold does no seem to be main problem why seeds do not sprout. If I knew the answers to sprouting seeds it would no longer be a challenge.

Laia

Thank you, each of you!! You all make this such a great community I feel fortunate to be in, thank you for sharing your experiences!

Bessie

Bessie update on Dahlia seedling showing fasciation...
Two sprouts came up from below the soil line. Both showed similar behavior to the now very thick main sprout. I don't think there's any way a flower will be formed. It might be interesting to see if the plant forms tubers, and if the tubers will also have plants with the fasciation.

BackyardBouquets_17

Since someone else shared some info on seed parents I thought I would to. I really appreciate those who share that knowledge but also fully understand why you would not and have no issue with people that would rather keep it to themselves. Currently this is what I have growing. Whether or not they will make good seed parents I guess time will tell. Last yr was a little bit of this and that and now this yr I really want to focus in on what seeds I keep and what I’m going to breed for. I sell cut flower bouquets so good vase life and cuts are going to be part of the goals.

My seedlings:

Miss Amara 35/ 40
Alpen Sundown 12/30
Coseytown Goldilocks 15/35
105 that are unknown.

Teddahlia

Revealing seed parents:
(1) I do not mind if it is a seedling of of one of our private breeding dahlias. Private means we do not share it with anyone.
(2) Sometimes we use a variety not bred by us to add to our gene pool. If the cross is unsuccessful (too many bad genes) but a nice seedling(usually a brightly colored flower with dubious form ) did appear, I do not mind giving out the seed parent.

Teddahlia

Moved most of our seedlings outside to mature to planting size n the weather that is nice for the next week or so. Not too hot; not too cold. I counted them and although I wanted to cut back, Margaret kept germinating more and we have as many as usual and that is 28 flats. How does one cut back?

SteveM

Teddahlia That might be my favorite of all your seedlings. I hope she thrives and produces a ton of tubers!

The only way my father could "cut back" was to move from the farm to a house with a small yard in the city. Kind od a "forced" retirement.

Juliarugula

Teddahlia I love this seedling so much!

MissyWeitzel

I started a late half tray of seedlings and they've been outside in full sun from the start. Do I still need to wait until they're a bit larger before transplanting or is it OK now?

Bessie

MissyWeitzel since they are adapted to the outdoor environment they would be ok to plant out if you're sure the slugs, snails, and other pests will not harm them. The advantage of letting them grow bigger is they will better withstand an insect nibble or endure water fluctuations when they have a bigger root mass and bigger green mass.

Teddahlia

We place tiny sprouts into 2.5 inch pots and grow the plants to about 6 inches before planting into the ground.

DarcyD

Teddahlia Thank you! I was just wondering this today. I got 165 in and the remaining trays are so tiny I decided to wait. They are probably 2-3”. The trays I had under lights did much better than those I was shuffling around outside.

Look at this little survivor from last years seedling patch. Making it through a Chicago winter unprotected ! I didn’t have the heart to pull it out even though it wasn’t a keeper last year 😂

Juliarugula

DarcyD I have soooo many (accidental) overwintered tubers popping up this year. I wish I knew what they all are. Some I can figure out but others not so much…

Teddahlia

It is a rare winter when Chicago ground froze less that Portland ground. No dahlia weeds here and most of them would have been seedlings that were rejected. One year the trial garden at Swan Island had a small problem with the previous years entries appearing as weeds. They are more careful about digging everything now.
Unlabeled picture. Probably seedlings.

calico20hill

I set out numerous seedlings from River's Cherry Bomb this morning, squeezing them in everywhere I could. Somehow I over looked them when doing the main planting. Its going to be fun to see what I get from these! I now declare that my garden beds AND grow bags are all full up!

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