Dahlias do produce tubers but they can be started from seed if you're not fussed about having an exact clone. There are plenty of seed strains available these days.

so.. perhaps the moral of the story.. is that you should harvest seed again.. this fall ....
and if you are not interested in digging itand storing it ..... i might push a stick into the ground.. say a foot north of the location .... so that you can look for it next spring .... id hate to hear it did make it thru winter.. but you dug it up by mistake.. while planting early annuals.. or some such ...

ken

I had two dahlias that I planted last year and they both came back this year. Surprised the heck out of me...they were not planted in a protected location. We did have a mild winter last year...maybe you did too?

And as Ken pointed out...I almost pulled one out thinking it was a weed until I recognized the shape of the leaves.

Seed dahlias are often sold as annual bedding plants. Although initially grown from seed, they will form tubers. And these can be dug and stored after the first frost to be replanted outside in spring. Or left in the ground if in a suitable climate or you are feeling brave :-) But where they are allowed to overwinter, they will become the larger, standard dahlia plants.

Gardenchloe had a surprise dahlia in her yard two years ago as well. No rhyme nor reason as to how it got there. But likely from an errant seed.

It's a real pretty one, Faith. If you do dig the tubers you can probably divide it next year then you can share!

I tried to dig and save tubers last year and it was a miserable fail. This year I am going to try some different methods.

Huh...thanks everyone! This is its third year so it’s probably got a nice tuber going by now, unless it’s actually been self-sowing and not overwintering. Either way, this might inspire me to try some more “annual” dahlia seeds. Hmmmm...