Saving Dahlia Seeds
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****Are you completely new to dahlias? I would suggest starting here, with the Dahlias 101 blog
Dahlias grow from a root underground called a tuber. Every plant that grows from those tubers will look exactly like the mother plant (the plant that grew from the tuber before.)
So, how do we end up seeing brand new, never before seen dahlias introduced every year??
Dahlia Seeds.
Yep, dahlias can grow from seeds as well. But here’s the catch: they will NOT look the same as their parent plant,… in fact: they may not look anything like the parent at all, they may have “unstable” genetics (meaning they don’t look consistent from bloom to bloom), and they may also just be kinda ugly.
However: they may also be the most beautiful, healthy, sturdy dahlia ever seen before!
I haven’t spent much time or effort on saving my dahlia seeds in previous years, because it takes patience and time, and I tend to run short on both of those. Ha!
Cedar Flats Dahlia Seedling
But this year: I grew my very first saved-from-seed dahlia. This dahlia doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world… isn’t that so cool?
But if you’d like to see some of the most gorgeous, brand new dahlia breeds that are being created right here in Olympia, Washington, check out my friend Hailey’s glorious work at River Merle Farm (you can search for any of the types with “RM” before their name, such as “RM Baby Girl”, or you can visit the Dahlia Seedlings page, which has photos of the up-and-coming beauties she’s bred!) Go ahead, check them out. I’ll wait….
Unbelievable right???
The only way to create new dahlias is to save their seeds and grow those seedlings until they bloom, and decide whether or not that new bloom is worth keeping.
I know a lot of folks will say “But Valerie, every flower is worth keeping!”
And for the home gardener, this may be true! But if you’re hoping to increase your chances of a glorious, sturdy, never-seen-before bloom in your saved seeds, there are some special considerations to keep in mind:
Open Center
Some less-than-ideal genetic traits have been deemed as “dominant,” meaning they show up frequently in the new baby plant if the parent plant is carrying those traits. One of those traits is an “open center” (when the yellow center shows on the dahlia, vs. closed center when the petals keep it covered).
If you keep dahlias in your garden that have their polleny (not a word…) center showing, it’s likely that ANY seeds you save will carry those traits. Why? Because the pollinators will stop by those open centered dahlias, passing those genetics on to the seed pod you’re trying to save.
Unstable Genetics
If your new baby plant throws some strange looking blooms, it may be due to unstable genetics. I’ve had a dahlia seedling that had consistent coloring, but some of the blooms had a single layer of petals with an open center, while other flowers on that same plant had a completely closed center with loads of petals, and still others had some petals that were curly and ruffled looking. Although it was pretty, it was inconsistent, and therefore, not a keeper for my farm. (happy ending though: I gave it to a neighbor up our road that is a beekeeper, and his bees love it!)
Bright (obnoxious) colors
If you are hoping for a new dahlia with soft blush, peach, or cream coloring, you may want to protect them from cross pollinating with your bright red and yellow dahlias. Bright colors like this are also considered “dominant,” (or so I’ve been told) and can hinder your progress toward softer tones.
How to Save Dahlia Seeds
When dahlia blooms fade, their petals will fall off, and you’ll be left with a green “pod.” Do NOT cut that pod right away, or the seeds inside will not mature, and they won’t fully form or be viable. You want to leave the pods on the plant for a while longer (ideally, 2-4 more weeks!)
Dahlia Pod After Petals Have Fallen
This pod is not yet ready to cut!
After the pod has matured on the plant, it will start to turn brown and begin drying out. If you are able to leave the pod for weeks, eventually it will be completely dried out and brown. However, in our Pacific Northwest rainy climate, it’s risky to leave them sitting on the plant with multiple days of rain in the forecast. Often, the rain will cause the entire pod to rot!
If you’re able to let it mature a bit on the vine, you can cut them once they look somewhat brown, such as this picture below:
Pods That Have Matured
At this point: you can cut these stems and place them in a vase of water to continue maturing. Bring them into a garage or in your home to mature.
Eventually, the pods will completely dry out. You want the pods to “fall apart” when you crush them to find the seeds. You can see in the video below, the pods are totally dry, crunchy, and ready to fall apart!
Now for the disappointing news:
Not every seed pod will have seeds in it.
I know. I KNOW. When saving seeds from other flowers, it’s often SUPER easy to collect a ton of seeds, like Sweet Peas! But that’s just not always the case with dahlias. Often, dahlias with the very closed centers and tons of petals are the most difficult to get pollinated and producing seeds (because their polleny centers (yes I’m using “polleny” twice in one blog) aren’t open for the pollinators!)
