04/29/2026
Part 1 of how I am starting my dahlia seeds. This year I am taking a different approach. I am still enlisting the blue shop paper towel method for some, but have primarily decided upon using these Glad boxes.
In part two, I will show how I will transplant them.
One thing I would like to emphasize in breeding dahlias is the difference between entering in the world as a hybridizer or a seed collector.
What does this mean?
In hybridizing one key element is you will be studious in your record keeping. You will gather seed from specific parent plants in the fall, and keep track of the germination & seed count.
In seed collecting, you are less concerned with this and have the freedom of throwing seeds into a container with other seed parents. You won’t be focused on germination rate or even care as much where they came from.
Neither is better than the other. Rather, it helps distinguish your goals and where you’re headed. The seed collecting side of things doesn’t require as much rigor and allows one to be a bit more whimsical in the approach.
Meanwhile, the hybridizer approach for starters can really help with narrowing in on what parent is good at making seed or pollen. This allows for less crossbreeding in genetics as well because you are literally doing the science of genetics.
What camp are you finding yourself in?
PS there is no right or wrong.
