The Tetbury Flower Company Dahlia Diaries Breeding Trials 2026

Thank you so much for your interest in our Dahlia Diaries Breeding Trials 2026. Please do take part if you can - we need at least 100 growers and 1,000 seedlings grown on into full flowering dahlia plants to get meaningful results. You do not need to be a master grower or particularly experienced in growing dahlias, I will guide you through the entire process step by step. Enthusiasm and a commitment to the trial are more important. 

Why are we doing a dahlia breeding trial at all? 

The trial is a pilot scheme as we begin to explore how we can assess dahlia breeding on a much larger scale than we can do here on our flower farm. We believe it may be the first community dahlia breeding project in the UK and we are looking to bring together a community of dahlia lovers across the country to be active growers and report results back to us. The aim is simple but powerful; together, we will grow dahlia seedlings on to flowering plants in a wide range of gardens and conditions, and carefully record what we see. This includes germination rates, plant health, vigour, flowering performance, and the detail that matters so much with dahlias such as colour, form, and stem quality.

By sharing results and learning as we go, this is not about us developing beautiful new dahlias in isolation. It is about building a statistically meaningful picture, at scale, of what is produced from each mother plant variety. In doing so, we will start to learn more information about dahlia genetics, dominant genes and growing conditions that will inform any dahlia breeding program going forward, not just ours.

UK mainland only at the moment I'm afraid.

Thanks so much for your interest and I hope to welcome you onto the trial. 

Rachel 


 Order seeds

What you need to know before you order seeds for the trial - please read

Seeds are in packets of 5

They are by variety and category that they came out of - the mother plant e.g. Cornel Brons - Ball Dahlia. Please only order what you can feasibly grow in your space. 5 plants will take about 1m square of growing space. 

The dahlias you will grow from these seeds will not come true to the mother plant

The objective of the trial is to track what is produced to inform dahlia breeding in the future. You will need to track and report every month of the trial until November 2026.

Seeds are free but we are asking for a £3 contribution towards postage and packing for each order

We will start posting out the week commencing 23rd March. 

Data will be recorded via Google Forms

This will be a simple form you fill in every month to record specific results e.g. sowing date, germination date, planting out date etc. You will be guided through this but be aware you will need a Google account to upload photos.

To order you need to be an active subscriber to our newsletter so that you receive instructions over the 2026 growing season

We will not ship seeds to people who are not on the subscriber list as we will have no legal way to contact you. Sign up as a subscriber below. This will also automatically sign you up to the Dahlia Diaries weekly free email I write every Friday. Trials emails will be sent separately when we will ask you to record results. 

Order Mother Plant Seeds

Trial Objectives

  • 1. To grow dahlia seedlings on to flowering plants at scale.

    We are aiming for over 1,000 seeds to be sown and grown across the UK, in a wide range of gardens, soil types, and growing conditions.

  • 2. To record and collect consistent data across all participants

    Each grower will record key observations including germination rates, plant health, vigour, flowering performance, and flower characteristics such as colour and form.

  • 3. To build a statistically meaningful picture of outcomes

    By combining results from across the country, we aim to understand, at scale, what is produced from each mother plant and how consistent (or variable) those results are.

  • 4. To identify seedlings with potential

    Whilst this is not primarily a selection programme, we will naturally begin to spot seedlings that show particularly strong or interesting characteristics.

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