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Dahlias
Robmarston
Posts: 338
in Talkback
Hi. In my border I have found two new dahlia plants. One is a lovely white with dark foilage and one is a mixed orange/yellow. Thing is, I have not bought or planted these. My garden is new and there was nothing there before so it's not from a previous owner or anything like that. I have four border dahlias of my own - bishop of llandaff, shadow play, moonfire and mystic illusion. I regularly deadhead, so don't think any seedheads will have formed. I cut them down each year and over winter, dig up the tubers and then replant in the summer - the usual stuff. I have also divided them often to propogate. So I'm wondering how I have these new varieties. I may have missed the odd tuber when digging them up, but why would it have changed colour and style? Is it possible that they cross pollinated and survived a winter? I really like these new ones so intend to keep and hopefully propogate them but I'm very curious how it happened. Has anyone else had this happen?
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Posts
I've never known dahlias to self seed, but I see no reason, given the right conditions, that they couldn't.
They are very easy from seed after all.
Cross pollination too is perfectly plausible.
Very few Dahlias come true from seed, so it is possible, although as Hosta says, I do not know of it happening.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border