Did you know you can grow dahlias from seed? Unlike growing dahlias from tubers, dahlia seeds will produce dahlias that are a unique variety of their own. This is so much fun and feels like a surprise every time. This will be my second year saving dahlias seeds. What is so unique about saving dahlia seed is, unlike tubers, tubers will always produce blooms that are cloned to the mother tuber (parent plant). However, when you collect dahlia seeds, you never know what the blooms will look like because they have their own DNA. Genetic makeup and pollination from our little heroes, the bees and other pollinators in the garden, are responsible for these unique and one-of-a-kind blooms. Each bloom has the potential to be a new variety of dahlia that no one has! How amazing is that!

So let’s begin!

You can either buy dahlia seeds or, if you have grown dahlias, wait until the end of the growing season and allow the blooms to go to seed. Wait for the seed pod to turn brown with a paper texture before gathering the seeds. Seeds will be grayish/brown—separate seeds from the pod to dry completely before storing.

Keep seeds stored in a cool, dry place after harvesting. Then come Spring, start dahlias seeds 6-8 weeks before your zone’s last frost.

Germinating Seeds

I use a food-safe container or a gallon zip lock bag for germinating dahlia seeds. Using a wet medium, in this case, I use a damp paper towel (not soaked) and sandwich the seeds in the middle of the paper towel. I then use a heat mat to speed up germination. If you don’t have a heat mat, lay your ziplock bag flat on top of your fridge. Take note that when on a heat mat, check the medium is staying wet until the seeds germinate. The heat mat will dry up the seeds quickly—Mist with a spray bottle. Seeds will germinate within 7-10 days. Keep a close eye once you begin to see small white sprouts they tend to grow quickly and will grow into the paper towel which can be a challenge to remove. 

Once Seeds germinate, then it is time to plant. Using cell trays, lightly dampen some potting soil and plant sprouted seeds.  Once seedlings are large enough to where leaves are touching in the flat, you can transplant them into a bigger container. Solo cups work great for this. From there, I hardened off the seedlings to put into the ground after all danger of frost has passed. Once the risk of frost has passed, you can safely plant your dahlias seedlings outdoors in a sunny location with well-drained soil.

According to Better Homes and Gardens, to check if the soil is well-draining, “dig a hole about 12-18 inches wide and 12-18 inches deep (it doesn’t have to be exact). Next, fill the hole with water. After it drains completely, refill it with water and note how long it takes for the water level to drop. In soil with good drainage, the level should drop about an inch per hour (Better Homes and Gardens, 2022)

At the end of the growing season is when your dahlia gives back. The seeds will have produced viable dahlia tubers you can dig up and save for the following season. These dahlia tubers will then grow and produce identical plants as the blooms from the “mother tuber.”

Special Offer Running through December

Enjoy 10 Free Dahlia Seeds when you Purchase the Growing Dahlias Notebook from Hope and Wildflowers. Send us your order confirmation number and shipping address (within the US only), and we will send you 10 Dahlia Seeds grown from my garden to yours with growing instructions included. All seeds are grown from a non-pesticide garden. No two dahlias will be the same and pleasant surprise!

Order Your Dahlias Seeds Now! 

I hope this post brought some inspiration from my garden to yours to begin germinating and saving your own dahlias seeds. Saving dahlia seeds is fun and rewarding and will save you so much money on your flower garden tubers. Please share your blooms with us if you found this article helpful or grown dahlias using this guide. Please tag us with #hopeandwildflowers

Keep Going, and Keep Growing

Happy Gardening!

This post contains affiliate links. This means when you make a purchase through one of our links, we will receive a small commission. I appreciate your support!

Use code: hopeandwildflowers5 to receive 5% off Seed Starting Supplies from Epic Gardening! High-Quality Gardening Products!