The Magic of Dahlias

During the 2023 season, I made dahlias a big priority for our family owned flower farm. Not only are dahlias beautiful but dahlias are vastly unique—containing over 800 DNA possibilities. With a rainbow of options we made a big investment in obtaining some tubers to grow many amazing dahlias.

Unlike most cut flowers you can grow dahlias from tubers (like potatoes) or seed. Seeds are a magical shot in the dark. Tubers however are identical clones of their parent plant. Tubers are pretty pricey once you purchase hundreds—but they often produce 4-10 tubers for the following season—all identical to the original plant. Seeds are a smaller investment for something truly unique but not necessarily guaranteed to be “pretty, fluffy, or ideal in form.” Important to not that all dahlias originated by seed including the famed Cafe Au Lait— a popular romantic, blushy, giant dahlias bloom.

**Wedding Bouquet I designed with a Cafe Au Lait Dahlia.**

Natives of Mexico, we must dig dahlia tubers (roots) every fall in zone 5B— as they won’t survive our cold winters. Dahlias are, in a word, divas in our NW Missouri weather and heavy clay soils. But when the soil is amended, weather is ideal, and maintained well, dahlias can thrive!

We loved having a consistent stream of dahlias for our amazing floral designers and retail customers this season and honestly I fell in LOVE with the magic of dahlias. I even started breeding my own and collecting seed. I’m happy to say that, God willing, I will have a wonderful selection of tubers and seeds to share with you in 2024!

Hope you enjoyed the small post about dahlias! Can’t wait to share more flower musings with you here on the farm!

Happy Growing,
Mandy
Flower and Forged Farms

Seeds for Your Garden