Given the size, I'd suspect it was a seed dahlia and those unfortunately tend to be sold without being a named variety.

How lovely! Sorry I can't help with an ID but it is beautiful!

:)

Dee

I agree that it's probably seed grown and hence unlikely to have a cultivar name.

If it is seed grown can I find the variety (cultivar?). Id look on line but im not sure what to put in

the search bar or are you saying, it is what it is and can not be traced?

thought...if it is a seed variety can I just harvest the seeds?

I have no idea how to do this but if I manage it will the seed produce the same flower?

Seed grown plants might be part of a named "strain" or "mix", but the individual plants have no cultivar name. Each plant will vary from the others, even if in minute ways. So, no, if you save seed and manage to germinate them, the resulting plants will not be the same as your original, though they might be close.

If you want more of your plant, you can overwinter the dahlia tuber, and then divide it next Spring. Since it's seed-grown, there is no patent on your particular plant, therefore no limitation on asexual reproduction.

I was going to suggest saving the tubers as well. I actually typed that above in my original post, but then realized I only ever once grew dahlias from seed, 20+ years ago, and just as annuals so I never saved seed or tuber from them. I wasn't sure if the tuber from a seed-grown dahlia would produce the same blooms. My mind was telling me it must, lol, but that little voice of doubt kept me from posting that! But that sounds like the way to go to get a repeat performance next year (and bonus - more plants!)

:)

Dee

well...before I read your posts, I cleaned out my garden and attempted to dig up my Dahlia. As I didnt realize/know that they were tubers and did not have a traditional root I pulled off the top stems and thought oops...missed the roots. Obviously, I didn't know it was a tuber I was dealing with. I don't know a lot about Dahlia. In the end, i have no way of finding the tuber as the garden is covered in perennials and leaves

Is there any possibility they will overwinter? What if I put some covering over the bed?

Thanks for your feedback!

It depends where you are. I think generally zone 7 or warmer you should have a good chance of them overwintering. I'm in southern CT, zone 6, and I dig mine up, although I have inadvertently missed a few that have overwintered - always a nice surprise.

Also, if it was planted in a sheltered location - for instance yours look to be near a foundation - that may help them overwinter.

:)

Dee

Daleyc, you don't say where you live, that would help us help you. Here in Z7a (normal lows between 5F and 10F), it's iffy overwintering dahlias without some kind of protection. Oak leaves or pine needles (something airy, that won't pack down) several inches deep will protect mine in warmer winters. But I normally dig them, store them cool in loose, dry peat moss, and then they're ready to divide the next Spring.

Im in zone 5. The Dahlia are next to a foundation and covered with leaves. I think, though, that the chance of survival is slim.

Do you think the greenhouse who sold them without a variety name...just the term Dahlia, might grow them again?

I get my flowers from two nursery's so its not impossible...is it?

daleyc, I don't think you should give up. You have two possible approaches to overwintering and propagating your lovely dahlias.

You can dig gently around in that bed until you find them, guided by the photographs you took in summer. I successfully overwintered my dahlia tubers last winter. I didn't separate them in the fall (for fear of damaging tubers), I put the whole tuber clump in a big plastic bag of damp sawdust and kept it in a place in my house that stays chilly all winter, but doesn't freeze. In spring it was in perfect condition so I cut it up carefully, gave a few tubers to friends, and planted two that did fine. This fall again I've dug up the one that got bigger and have stored it the same way.

Your other option is to collect autumn leaves now and just heap and pile them up on the bed where the dahlias were in the summer. You could even leave them in the sacks! Since it is against the foundation, it will get a little non-freezing heat from your foundation, and the deep piles leaves will probably protect your dahlia tubers in the ground.

But I don't know how a whole clump of undivided dahlia tubers does the next year. Does it get too crowded and cause trouble for itself? Or does it become a massive, early-starting, wonderful clump?

I agree with HighColdDesert - you should at least give it a try! I'm not sure I personally would poke around for the tubers. But that's me - often I know where the tubers are and I still damage them! (and of course I damage the best tubers, not the little ones hanging on the edges lol.) But perhaps you have more patience and digging finesse than I do lol. If you CAN dig up the tubers successfully that would be the best option to overwinter.

I too think that since they are close to the foundation that may give some protection, so HEAVY mulching may help - I like the idea of just leaving the bags of leaves on top! It might not look great aesthetically but it might help your dahlia survive. As I said above, I have occasionally forgotten to dig a tuber up and it has overwintered out in the garden with an inch or two of mulch here in zone 6, so perhaps in your zone 5 with active protection it may work. You've got nothing to lose by trying.

And while I am not a dahlia expert at all, one season of not lifting and dividing shouldn't harm the plant at all. I believe several people in warm zones have commented on the forums about lifting their tubers every three years or so to divide.

Lastly, to answer your question about the garden center selling them again, I do think it's entirely possible. I know the garden center I frequent has for example, grown the same varieties of impatiens for years, and I'm sure other flowers as well - geraniums, petunias, etc. So it is within the realm of possibility that they will grow the same dahlia, especially if it was a good seller for them.

If I were you I would mulch, mulch, mulch, cross your fingers, shop at the garden center for more in spring, and watch for sprouts in your garden! Oh, if you do go the bag-of-leaves route, be sure to remove the bags early enough (perhaps March???) and dump out the leaves on top - this way any growth will not be squished and/or destroyed.

Good luck and PLEASE post next spring to let us know how it went!

:)

Dee

Good ideas everybody. It wont be possible to dig up the tubers as they grew very close to some grasses. I'm good with doing the leaves. What about covering the areas with mulch or, crazy idea, idea, what if i covered the areas with black weed mats. I could put them on lightly as to not smother the plants

Now that we have several idea's, Do folks think that one might t be the best to move forward with?

Hi Dee

Happy to keep you posted! :)

Deep piled leaves are much better insulation than weed mats.

I would avoid putting weed mats down at all. If you forget to remove weed mats in spring, your dahlias will be killed.

And generally weed mats, if used as intended, will be a source of bitter regret a few years down the line.

Got it. No tarp.

Yep, once again I agree! :) Leaves will work better for the reasons above. Let's keep our fingers crossed for your beautiful dahlia to bloom next year!

:)

Dee

It does look very similar in some photos and not in others. I'll keep looking into it

Thanks!!

Many dahlias are variable in color depending on weather, temperature, the amount of sunlight and time of season, some being rather highly changeable.