Kirk, Serena grows to only 28" high. I didn't notice that we had much trouble with this one in the hoophouse. I'm guessing that it was around 36" for us in there. This was a really, really nice white dahlia. Lagoon is the one we also had problems with. All the other varieties produced well for us, and Lagoon was about 18" tall and blooming. This wasn't working. They were an ugly stunted plant that I just wanted to yank out of the ground. So, we talked to the grower/propagator. First of all, he says these are short plants. We did not know this because they are grown for the cutflower industry. So, we assumed they would be tall. His theory was that with the heat it was causing Lagoon and Serena to bloom on short stems -- and early because these are late blooming dahlias. Probably what you are experiencing, Kirk. The odd thing was we weren't having trouble with Serena. We both scratched our heads. His suggestion was to cut Lagoon back a little, fertilize well, and see what happens. We did just that. And, they have been producing flowers for about the last three weeks. Beautiful flowers. Most of the other dahlias in the hoophouse pretty much tired out after pumping out flowers since the first of June. I haven't grown Corona; but, that one does get 36" high. And, Naomi gets 36-40" high. Naomi is really nice. We loved the Karma dahlias with their long stems. They are the perfect dahlia. I have others in the field though that I am madly in love with at the moment though. Flowerfarmer -- who is supposed to be in the field. We've been picking madly since 7 am. These are our big markets this weekend.

>>Unless i have this wrong, i'm pretty sure all dahlia's have tubers and are tender perennials, not true annuals. Correct, although I treat my Harlequin as annuals as a general rule. I don't have to, they could be lifted. Really, a lot of plants in our gardens are short-lived perennials we treat as annuals in our respective climates. >>I don't know anything about dahlia seed in particular, but i can tell you that no plant seed conceived naturally is the exact same as the parent, By definition, although I've collected seed from plenty of Salvia species and the daughters are the same as the mothers, for the most part. Over time, the Salvia splendens are getting a bit taller and I did breed a few cultivars together to get the leaf and flower style I wanted. Dahlia are incredibly unpredictable. We humans have two copies of each chromosome. Many flowering plants have more than two (even some with odd numbers like some zinnia species--Profusion has three). It helps if you can't meander around and find a mate whose genes don't resemble yours by keeping harmful mutations from reinforcing as easily. That's why plants can self-fertilize and the daughters usually do just fine. Dahlia have eight copies of each chromosome! (The technical term is "octoploidal.") The number of possible recombinations just on a self-fertilization is incredible. Unfortunately it means it's hard to breed any two plants and get anything you expect. The only reliable way to reproduce a dahlia with the same characteristics as the parent is by cloning. You can split the tubers, or root a green shoot, both work fine. Most of us split the tubers to reproduce our dahlia but some people around here do root cuttings.

I think it probably wouldn't hurt and might help in her climate. I probably wouldn't use one here because we have so much sunlight, even on cold days, that plants inside these little plastic houses tend to roast on sunny days. Since she lives in a sunlight-challenged area, I doubt her plants will roast on the occasional sunny day. However, to ensure they don't roast, if I were using one and were leaving for the day, I'd unzip the door to vent the little growhouse/greenhouse in order to avoid a heat buildup if the sun amazingly comes out from behind the clouds. The great issue in Seattle isn't the length of the growing season, as you've noticed, but rather the lack of heat units or heating degree days. They stay above freezing a long time but don't have a lot of real heat, and tomatoes need a steady supply of heat in order to produce well and in order to produce tomatoes with good flavor. Beefsteak might not have been the best variety for her to pick. It can take a very long time to fruit and flower. If I were in Seattle, I'd likely choose something with a shorter DTM. Dr. James Baggett and other plant breeders at Oregon State University have bred tomatoes specifically for that climate that she might like to try in some future year. Bell peppers are more tolerant of cooler temperatures and won't suffer from the heat there the way they can here. If I were trying to grow tomatoes and peppers there, I'd have them in containers and place them on a concrete slab, if possible as they might pick up a little more heat that way. A concrete slab with a south-facing or west-facing wall would be even better as there likely would be more heat gain from sunlight (when they have it) reflecting from the wall and the slab up onto the plant. Also, the slab would heat up during the day and release the heat at night when might keep her plants a few degrees warmer. That's important in terms of fertilization. Territorial Seed Company is based in Oregon and specializes in plants for the kind of conditions they have there in the Pacific Northwest. I'm going to link their website below. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: Territorial Seed Company

Hi silverrowan, some of my personal favorites in low(er) varieties - all ones I've grown myself, are Park Princess (pink cactus), Yellow Happiness (sunny yellow, nice form), There is a red waterlily form called Japanese that stays low and has lovely flowers. A beautiful pastel blend is zingaro. Le Baron gets about 1m tall for me - needs staking but is bushy and blooms like mad. Velda Inez - nice lavender/white blend. Firepot is an amazing sunset blend that is stunning. Bishop of Llandaff or Japanese Bishop (or bishop's children) are all in the range and have dark foliage, as does Fascination. Nonette is a low orange variegated with red that is very nice. As you know, you MUST dig the lower varieties - I guess in Toronto you have to dig them all! I don't know how many of these varieties you can find in Canada. If you like the REALLY low mounded ones just "for show", the gallery dahlias are only about a foot tall and wide. The ones I mentioned above all have stems that you can cut.