Usually around October or November, when it starts getting cold, I dig them up (or pull if the tuber seems small enough), cut the stems so there's maybe 6inches or so left, dunk them in some 10 % bleach solution, then I lay them on newspaper to dry for a day or so. Then I just pack them up in shoeboxes. I've also used paper lunch bags for Uwins dwarf Dahlia tubers, and it's worked out well. They have to be able to breath and not collect moisture. So just store them away somewhere that is dry and coolish (I put them in a back room of our house that doesn't get the most heat). I'm not a very experienced gardener, but I've done that for the past three years that I've grown Dahilas, and I only lost some when I stored them in plastic bins (which I will never do again!) Linda

My chinese asters do usually start blooming later than many things. I think mine started about two weeks ago. They are late, but in my opinion, well worth the wait. These are one of my favorites, and one of the more popular flowers with my customers. I always kick myself for not planting more. The main drawback, IMO, is that rebloom is not good. They seem to have pretty much one good flush, and the secondary bloom is usually too short-stemmed to be of use in bouquets. That's why I always wish I had planted more! I have had the worst year ever with dahlias! My plants are barely a foot tall, only about a fifth of them even have blooms, and those blooms are on three-inch stems. I don't know if it's just the bad year that accounts for the three-inch stems, or if the description of what I bought as being "great for cutting" was a bunch of hooey. Very discouraging. Actually, now that I think of it, I did grow some dahlias from seed this year (most of mine were bought as tubers) and those seed-started ones did start to bloom about a week ago. And they look a heck of a lot better than the tuber-grown ones. I'm not sure, since I don't have a wide range of experience with dahlias, but I do think the bloom time can depend on the variety. I remember I grew one gorgeous one called "Summer's End" which I joked should be called "Autumn's End", because the darn thing never bloomed until November! Dee

You can get the Unwins seed dahlias from any seed rack where you buy annuals- they're a short border dahlia - also good for planters. We get our own seed from AA pods on parent plants in the fall, dry them , seperate them & do all the stuff necessary to harvest seeds. Last count on the new seedling babies for 2005 is 647-- of that there will probably be around 200 worth keeping this year. It's like Christmas in August when all the babies start blooming & they're all brand new ones never been seen before! You can see some of our seedlings in our "Seedlings" album at this site. Here is a link that might be useful: Wynne's Dahlia Albums

Hello Andrew, I think I agree with everything Ken said. " Is it worth saving the seeds from hybrids? I've read on some sites that the plants will never be the same if they even flower? or should i just let the birds feast away. " The birds will feast unless you put some form of protection over the sunflower seed heads. It is really a matter of personal preference whether you save seeds from you hybrid sunflowers. And that is assuming that your sunflowers are true hybrids--some things get called hybrids because they were of hybrid origin, but now. If they are true hybrids, they should be labelled F1 Hybrids. At least some sources refer to them as American Giant F1 If you save seeds from an F1 hybrid, they are called F2 (second generation) hybrids, and they will display genetic recombination, creating a variety of appearances. But they are not necessarily inferior, just different. They will flower and be reasonably good. Perhaps "better", depending on your personal preferences. As an amateur zinnia breeder, I routinely save seeds from my home-hybridized hybrid zinnias, because it is interesting to see the new zinnia forms that can result. I even do hybrids between hybrids, just to get more extreme variations. This is an example of one of my current recombinant zinnias that you couldn't get from a seed packet. If you want uniformly tall sunflowers next year, you should buy fresh F1 seed and let the birds eat the seeds on your current American Giant F1 Hybrid sunflowers. If you have the space to grow quite a few sunflowers, you might want to consider breeding your own sunflowers as a hobby. You could start that hobby by saving seeds from your American Giant F1s. ZM