Our Breeding Program

At VH Dahlias, our breeding program focuses on creating unique and high performing dahlia varieties. Every seedling is observed and trialed over multiple years before earning a spot in our collection. 

Starting From Seed

Each new variety starts as a seed. We start thousands of seedlings each year - each is genetically unique and has potential. In their first year they are grown out in the field and will bloom.

Making Crosses

Our breeding crosses are intentional. Parents are selected based on desirable traits like stem strength, bloom, productivity... Pollination is done by hand to ensure accuracy; male pollen is first removed to prevent self-pollination.

Evaluating and Selection

Only the top few percent make the cut (1-5%). They are evaluated over many years to observe how they perform over the seasons. Varieties that perform well are kept and moved forward into production.

Seedling Gallery (under evaluation)

Many more coming soon!