Hi Alison, those are Dahlia seed all right :-) Keep in mind that Dahlias do not produce true to the parent plant but sometimes those seeds will produce something just as beautiful, its a grab bag full of surprises. So if you get a keeper you just love, wait til the frost kills the plant and pull your tubers out and store for winter.
Best Wishes,
Wendey

Oh that's great Dawiff, another bunch of dahlia seeds for us to WS. Any idea which one it is? I think you took either dwarf Unwin or figaro or maybe it was both.
Unwin is a single flower, figaro is more like a double flower.

I have some white unwin and red unwin seeds and 1 lonely yellow figaro. Hope to have more. Also have both red and yellow stargazer seeds for us.

Wendey, I thought that the dwarf dahlia seeds came true to the parent plant. Ones like dwarf unwin, figaro, bishops children etc. They are sold in comercial packets.

Fran

Oh, the Bishop's Children seed are a real mixed bag -- but oh my gosh! A GORGEOUS! mixed bag! All single flowers - Reds, Scarlets, Deep Purples, and Bright Pinks, some with eye zones.

I loved mine so much I am saving the tubers. All from a lowly pack of collected seed that I got in a swap. They germinated and grew and bloomed in something like 10 weeks!

I would also like to say that the 50 seeds I grew and germinated, only about 15% had the dark foliage, so if you are primarily after the darker foliage, you'll have to kill off the green seedlings. Seedlingacide?

Be sure those seeds are all nice and heavy and sort of 3D to be sure they are viable. If they bend they are no good. The smaller the seed the nicer the flower (I think it's an old dahlia wife's tale, but I also think there might be a grain of truth in it. It would be nice to run some sort of test to see.)

Lime

Thanks for the help making sure that what I thought might be seeds actually were seeds.

Fran, I don't know what kind it was, because you had stuck a label on it that said Stargazer, but it was only about a foot tall and had a pink, almost daisylike flower with a yellow center. It was pretty enough, but not like the Stargazers that you've posted pics of here. It might be Unwin, going by your description.

Now that I've looked more closely at the seeds, I noticed a couple are kind of paper-thin, but most of them are thick, they have a concave side, and a side that sticks out.

It will be an interesting experiment to see what I get from the seeds. It was the only dahlia I grew, and I don't know anyone else in the neighborhood that has dahlias.

Lime, I didn't know there were dahlias that had dark foliage. I can't remember if I ordered Bishop's Children. I might actually have a commercial packet of them here somewhere in one of these many shoeboxes. Hehe!

Alison

Oh, good, sounds like they're viable then.

If you're in any swaps with me, I can just about guarantee you'll get a pack of dahlia seeds...of course by now they are Bishop's Great Grandchildren! LOL

I just loved them -- they are quite substantial at 36-40", but they stood straight up and flowered the entire summer, and the bees and butterflies loved them. The Japanese Beetles love Dahlias, too, but since there are single flowers, they are eay to pick off.

Lime

Lime, I think I am in quite a few swaps with you. The ones I am in are the Cottage Garden swap, the Big One Time Seed Trade, and the Spectacular Fall Fresh Seed Swap. Looking forward to getting some interesting seeds.

I love Bishop's Great Grandchildren! LOL!

Fran, I'm pretty sure those commercial seed have been bred to produce a particular flower, that being said I would still happily grow any dahlia seeds!
Last year I grew an offspring seed from Unwins dahlias that I grew the year before and got a beauty of yellow with red streaks I've never seen one like it again, the height and growing habit were the same as the unwins but the color was incredible.
Best wishes, Wendey

LOL! Alison, I can about guarantee you'll get my Dahlia seeds from one of those swaps, but if you don't, email me at the end of the year and I'll fire some off to you. I have pink, coral in the rounded petals and coral in the pointy petals, semi double. As was mentioned, dahlias do not come true from seed -- but the plant habit itself *should* be close.

If you are unsuccessful with the seed or only want one plant, email me in March or April and I'll send you a tuber or two. Assuming I am successful at digging and storing them.

Dahlias do not like frost or cold soil temperatures, so don't set them out too soon.

Lime

Lime,
check out the dahlia forum for the best ways to store your tubers.
Best Wishes, Wendey

Hi Wendey, thanks, I do need to drop in on the dahlia forum. I (theoretically) know how to store them, but they don't always cooperate. I am using the "new" Saran method with better than average results, but I still have trouble cutting them in the fall and cutting them to the single tuber size those people seem to be able to do with their eyes closed. The Saran wrap works best with those single tuber things, and mine are always "Y" shaped. (And those are the good ones!) :(

As an aside, I've noticed that most of the people who really, really store dahlias well with few losses are successful, not because of anything they have done, but that they have a physical space that dahlias tolerate over winter for 5 or 6 months of the year.

I've just noticed that they say, "Oh, I keep them in the attic next to the chimney that faces south", or "Oh, I live in an old farmhouse and just toss them in the root cellar." (or crawl space, or they have a furnace in the garage, or whatever.) Some of them probably built walk-in Dahlia coolers!

The trick is to find that perfect spot at my own home, and I haven't discovered it yet. My spaces are either heated or they're freezing cold; I don't have any place that stays "chilly".

Lime

I am thinking of digging the tuber that these seeds came from and keeping it over the winter, as an experiment. We got temps down into the low 20s last night, it's not too late to dig it, is it?

Lime, Thanks so much for the offer, if I don't get some of your seeds in one of those swaps, I'll probably take you up on it. The colors you describe sound really pretty!

BTW, if Bishop's Children cross-pollinate with some other dahlia, does that make them Bishop's B*st*rds, er, excuse me, Bishop's Illegitimate Children? :D

Alison

We have had temps down into the upper 20s a couple of times now and I just pulled my tubers yesterday they look pretty good. I haven't been very successful at overwintering as well but I was a bit careless with them before, and i'm nervous to separate them being an amature. So i'll try again, I'm going to put them into some pots and cover with peat mist lightly and store in my cool basement. Wish me luck!
Wendey

Wendy,
I don't know if you want to use peat moss with your dahlias. I know some people suggest that, but I lost tubers last year by doing that. The peat held too much moisture in. I've heard some people mention wood shavings. I haven't tried that.
I just dunk mine in a 10% bleach solution, lay them out on newspaper to dry, then store them in a shoe box (with nothing but the tuber in it). I have a room that is relatively cool and dry, and I haven't had a problem doing it this way. I'm no expert, but that's what works for me
:-)But Our winters here, tend to be dry here.

I wonder if putting one of those "damp rid" packets in a box would cut down on the moisture? I'm thinking of you being in Washington State, which is pretty wet year round, isn't it?

Linda

Linda, thanks for the heads up, I bought sphagnum moss but haven't put them in it yet, they are drying in my cellar.
Hmmm, so maybe i'll have to rethink this, I was going to store them in a plastic tote with air holes and lined in newspaper and just cover with the moss.
We are Eastern Wa. and we are getting some moisture now but has been mostly dry up til recently, this is our first year, we moved here in April from Cape cod.
Wendey

I just had another thought, Wendy ...
I see that bulbs often come with wood shavings, the same stuff that you can buy in the pet area of any store for the animals bed/living space.
...And those little plastic containers that have the criss/cross openings, you know those cheapy little containers you can buy for a dollar or so for a pack of three or more?
I figure storing in an open "weave" container would be good for them, and they are still somewhat stackable. The wood shavings-- I've read that some people prefer them over peat, partly because of the moisture issue. Seems like they would do a better job of wicking the moisture away from the tuber.
If you have any silica gel packs left from shoe boxes and the like, grab them and stick them in with the tuber as well.

I just woke up and I'm kinda loopy, but i hope this message makes sense :-)

Linda

Linda,
Thats a great idea, I have to go to walmart today so i'll pick up some shavings. I have some show dahlias and really dont want them to rot!
Thanks for the advice :-D
Wendey

I have tried the peat moss, shaving, newspaper, etc. Now I just dry the tubers and throw them in a double grocery bag which I roll up then put in a cool dark room under my stairs.

I forget to check them during the winter to mist the tubers if they are shriveling but even the dried up tubers seem to come back just fine when they are potted up in the spring.

Those elephant ears, dahlias, cannas, calla lilies, etc that were growing in pots are left in the pot and the pot is put in the same room.

Bobbie