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dahlia
Richard Harrison3
Posts: 4
in Plants
I am new to gardening, so need a lot of help as a beginner i have no idea where plants / flowers hold their seed pods , I've found magnolia ones and a couple of others like foxglove , but can I as hell find dahlia seed pods I have grown four plants thus year from tubas but would like to try to grow from seeds can anyone help please Cheers
0
Posts
Dahlia seed pods look like the buds but with points instead of a rounded end. If you dead-head like the books tell you to you won't see them
In the sticks near Peterborough
ok thanks ill have a look
so its the dead bud end when its finished flowering and dried
Yes, you'll find seeds at the base of that case
In the sticks near Peterborough
Dahlia flower buds are round. The buds that have already flowered are pointed. Select those pointed buds that you want to keep for seed then label them, so that you do not dead-head them. I tie on a plant label with wire and also place a white tape around the stem close to the flowered bud (belt and bracers.)
When the buds are ready they will turn papery and brown. Pick them (carefully, they are quite delicate) then place on a windowsill for several days to thoroughly dry out. Separate the seeds from the chaff and store in a paper envelope.
Plant the seeds in moist compost in two inch pots, in gentle heat (60c) in late March. Re-pot into three inch pots when large enough to handle comfortably. Plant out in May.
Also be aware that dahlia's are very promiscuous and plants grown from seed are rarely like the parent. However it is great fun and you can end up with completely unique new plants and then propagate identical ones by taking cuttings from those you like.
If you want to cross-breed Dahlias I made a post on 18/09/2014 at 20.07 which explains how. You can apply this to flowers on the same plant to make sure they come true.