Discovering the Daffodahlia: The Bloom That Brought You Here!

Hello! I’m Kelsey Hall, farmer and owner of Cattle & Cut Flowers, and I’m excited to share some behind-the-scenes updates with you — especially about our new, buzz-worthy bloom: the “Daffodahlia.” This little stunner has made quite a splash, and if you’ve been seeing it all over your social media feeds, you’re probably wondering what it’s all about. Let’s dive into the story behind this dahlia flower that’s capturing everyone’s imagination!

Here at Cattle & Cut Flowers in Enumclaw, Washington, we’ve been growing this dahlia variety for years, but something special happened this season. In late August, six of our 35 plants began producing blooms with a cup-like shape — like a daffodil! Not every bloom was affected, but more than half on each plant were showing this wild mutation. The petals curved forward rather than backward, but the colors stayed true to the original variety.

I have a few hunches about what’s going on, but I’ll need to wait until next season to test these theories and know for sure.

Is the Daffodahlia Here to Stay?

Mutations happen all the time in gardens, and while it’s exciting, they don’t always stick around. I’m saving seeds from these blooms, tubers, and taking cuttings to see if I can coax them to return next season.

To date, we have 24 cuttings potted up in our grow room. We are expecting these to bloom in late winter. This would be the earliest to see a bloom and if the genetics carried on of the Daffodahlia.

Is It a Virus or a New Hybrid?

We’ve tested these plants for common dahlia issues, and everything looks good so far. If the Daffodahlia blooms again next year, we’ll be diving deeper into testing. There’s even the option for whole-genome sequencing to learn more, though that comes with a hefty price tag! Before the Daffodahlia is ever release we will insure it is something our customers can safely grow in their gardens.

For now, we’re staying hopeful and keeping a close eye on these beauties. If anyone knows how to speed up time (seriously, let me know!), we’d love to skip ahead to next season! But, until then, stay tuned for more updates as we learn everything we can about this one-of-a-kind bloom!

– Kelsey