An Interview with Sarah from My Little Dahlia Garden

On a clear Autumn’s day, I travelled 30 mins South to visit my friend and fellow flower grower, Sarah Neill at her Little Dahlia Garden.

I first met Sarah when she sold me my first ever dahlia - a Cafe au Lait tuber and a complimentary packet of seeds. After that season, I grew the most beautiful peach Cafe au Lait lookalike and was instantly hooked on dahlias. From that moment, I was in awe of Sarah and eagerly watched her journey as she bred beautiful dahlias from her small but mighty, urban garden space. When you speak to Sarah, you can see just how passionate she is about Dahlias. She is also incredibly generous about sharing her knowledge, tubers and beautiful seeds with other budding growers.

I asked Sarah to share some of her insight about growing and breeding dahlias for my blog and she so kindly agreed - there is some real gems in this conversation and I highly recommend to anyone that is growing dahlias from seed this year to take notes - and lots of them!

My first Dahlia grown from seed (seed harvested from Sarah's garden. Parent plant - Cafe au Lait). 

Thanks for doing this interview, Sarah. Can you start off by letting us know more about your small business and how you got started?

”Thank you for having me! My small flower-growing and bouquet business began with a passion for cultivating flowers and sharing the joy they bring. Initially, I grew flowers to use as decorations for cakes I made for family and friends. After creating numerous birthday and wedding cakes, roses were the first flowers I decided to grow. From there, I started making small bouquets as gifts for family and friends birthdays, and I started getting asked by people if I could create a bouquet for them to gift on.

I realized that to create more cohesive floral arrangements, I needed some formal training. So, during the Covid pandemic, with more time on my hands, I took a floral design course through Open Polytechnic. This course provided me with the essential building blocks for crafting beautiful floral arrangements, and I would highly recommend it to anyone starting their floral design journey. Although I still consider myself a novice in this field, I am constantly learning and growing along the way."

You are growing your dahlias in a small, urban garden. Is there anything in particular you do to make the most out of your space?

“My husband and brother built raised garden beds for me, which is where I grow most of my flowers. I plant my dahlias about 20 cm apart, which is as close as they can be planted. This close spacing helps the plants support each other, and I use a staking method called corralling, where I string twine between posts to keep them upright. Our property is on a hill in Wellington with heavy clay soil, and the garden beds are positioned between the house and a fence, offering some protection from the strong winds. Despite this, staking is crucial to prevent damage to the dahlia plants, though broken stems are, unfortunately, inevitable due to the windy climate here.”

Now’s the time to start dahlia seeds, I’d love it if you could talk us through your process?

"The easiest way to start dahlia seeds is to use a seed tray filled with seed-raising mix. I place the tray in a plastic container to maintain humidity and put it on a heat mat. It's crucial to monitor the moisture levels carefully, as dahlia seeds can rot if they're too wet. You want the mix to be just slightly damp. After sowing the seeds, I cover them with vermiculite.”

When the time comes to plant out your dahlia seedlings, what spacing do you think is best and are there any growing tips you care to share?

“I plant out my dahlia seedlings when they’re approximately 15cm tall, and would withstand insect damage. I follow advice from an experienced grower in America (Kristine Albrecht) who plants seedlings side by side in a row. She actually plants the entire pot (4-inch size) in the ground. This method allows the seedlings to develop pot tubers, and makes it easy to remove the entire plant of any seedlings that aren't in line with dahlia breeding goals. Personally, I do give my seedlings a little bit more space, about 10-15 cm apart, and I wait until the first bloom to decide if I want to keep the plant for future blooms."

I'm very interested to hear how you go about breeding a new cultivar - what steps are involved to do this?

"Dahlias are octoploid, meaning they have eight sets of chromosomes for a total of 64 chromosomes. This abundance of genetic material allows for a vast range of flower colors, shapes, and sizes. However, their complex genetics can make breeding more challenging compared to plants with fewer chromosome sets. In my breeding process, I mostly rely on bees for cross-pollination. I remove any single-flowered dahlias and leave only the ones I want to be pollinated. While I do some hand pollination using a paintbrush, the bees generally do a more effective job.

”If you're looking to collect and grow seeds, it's a good idea to plant dahlias of similar forms together, like grouping ball dahlias with other ball forms. This increases the chances of cross-pollination within the same form, resulting in better-quality seedlings. When it comes to harvesting seeds, I prefer to let the seedpods dry on the plant as much as possible. If rain is expected, I cut the stems and bring them indoors to finish drying. The seeds are found in the seed pod left after the flower fades, but not all seeds will be viable. To check for viability, I look for bend and bounce: if the seed bends when squeezed end-to-end, it's not viable, and it should bounce when dropped onto a hard surface."

I know everyone would love to know what traits you look for when breeding a new dahlia variety?

"That's a great question! Every dahlia breeder has their own set of breeding goals, but for me, there are a few key traits I focus on. I look for a 45-degree angle on the flower head, which is ideal for arranging. A straight stem is also important, along with good repeat blooming and a vase life of at least 5 days. High petal count is another trait I prioritize—the more petals, the better!"

Finally, is there any special tips and tricks you'd like to share about digging and storing dahlias?

"As with most gardening tasks, it's all about jumping in and giving it a try. I've found that many of my dahlias actually store best when left in the ground, so this season I've left quite a few in place. If you do dig them up, don’t be tempted to do it too early as once the weather starts to cool down, they need a good period of time to cure the outside of the tubers. If they get dug up too early they’re more likely to shrivel which can make storing them till spring planting more challenging.

This year, I am digging and dividing some in spring before replanting. It's important to figure out what works best for you, depending on your growing conditions and the time you have available. With three young kids and a part-time, non- garden related job, life has been really busy lately, so I make the most of the small windows of time I have to spend in the garden."

Thank you so much for your time Sarah - we can’t wait to see what beauties you will grow in your Little Dahlia Garden this Summer. You can find Sarah on Instagram at @mylittledahliagarden where she showcases all her gorgeous seed-grown blooms as well as shares so many helpful tips and tricks for beginner dahlia growers. Get in touch directly with Sarah through her page if you would like to order a custom gift bouquet, seeds or dahlia tubers.