
This year, like everyone on the internet, I grew dahlias from Floret’s first seed offering. I went with ‘Bee’s Choice’ and, boy howdy, the bees chose. (So did the cucumber beetles – more on that later.)
I am not an experienced dahlia grower; I am not a cut flower gardener; I don’t make arrangements or care about vase life; I am not trying to find the next great dahlia tuber (though I may have found one!). I grew dahlias from seed for the sole purpose of bringing me joy every time I look at the front of my garden. Individually, they are not all perfect. Together, looking like them is like listening to the cacophony of a symphony while the members warm up. Reds, whites, yellows, pinks, purples, yellows….pure dissonate joy. Importantly, two packets of seed mix cost me, with shipping, about $40. Try growing this many plants from tubers for anywhere close to that!


I started mine from seed on a heating mat about from my first frost date. Germination was strong. I rogued out anything that did not immediately look like a winner. Next year, I would reduce the lead time six weeks. First, they blew through the nutrients in my potting mix and I started having some kind of nutrient deficiency that was beyond normal chlorosis. Potting them on and giving them a bit of liquid fertilizer did the trick but this was probably largely avoidable. I was then carrying fairly unwieldy trays inside and out each day to harden them off.
Second, while we had an exceptionally warm May and the plants had been hardened off for weeks, the weather turned cold as soon as I set them out and they experienced significant transplant shock. I was also having nitrogen tie-up issues in a new no-dig bed and really wasn’t sure if they were going to spring back. Despite their strong start, I had very sad plants. I hit them with a pretty hefty dose of a homemade blend of organic fertilizer and plenty of deep watering with drip irrigation. It took awhile but they rallied just in time to brighten up a washed-out fall garden. The variety of colors and shapes has been like a garden advent calendar!







While I have enjoyed the colors immensely, the biggest impact they have made is bringing all the pollinators to the yard. My garden is in its first year and there has not been enough time to get perennial herbs and flowers established. The air has been too quiet. The second the dahlias started to bloom, it has been an insect melee. The air is alive again. This is enough reason to have open-centered dahlias in the vegetable garden every year. Unfortunately, they were also an open-invitation to cucumber beetles.

I had not grown enough dahlias to realize they are a favorite snack of cucumber beetles and they arrived in droves. Almost every flower has cucumber beetle damage. From afar, this is irrelevant. Up close, almost every photo will show some damage. Interesting, you know where the cucumber beetles are not? On my cucumbers. I suspect that dahlias are so tasty that they might actually be a useful trap crop to prevent damage on vegetables.When I have time, I knock them into a jar and feed them to my chickens.
Resistance to pests is one area where the breeding aspect of open-pollinated dahlias becomes fun. While I did not grow the seed mix with the intention of saving tubers, one plant has outshone the rest. It was one of the most robust, first to bloom, and (hopefully I don’t jinx it), seeming impervious to cucumber beetles. The flowers last longer and have held up better than any of the other plants. And the colors. I just cannot get enough of the colors. Every flower looks like this. This one I will keep.

Prior to growing dahlias from seed, I have considered most dahlias lovely to look at but fairly….sterile. When flowers no longer really look like a place insects want to land, I no longer really want them in my garden. Yes, they are a work of art in their own way but sterility has no place in my garden. I want the natural cycles of chaos and carnage between pollinators, pests, and predators on full display. Open-centered dahlias immediately brought my too-quiet garden to life and earned their place. They are easy to grow, affordable, and beneficial. If you are a dahlia fan and want an adventure, I would grow them from seed at least once!
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