Unique side hustles?

[rocksnstumps]

Every dahlia grown from a seed is a brand new, unique variety. Breeders have to plant about 50 seeds to get 1 worth producing for sale. Our farm released 3 varieties for growing in 2026, and they sold out at $25 each.

White River Acres

Online dahlia tuber store

whiteriveracres.com

Interesting about that 1 in 50 statistic. Feel it's about the same odds if you take 50 Siberian or Dolgo crab seedlings you get like one or two that are probably worth grafting more with. Maybe not stellar attributes but solid performers for decent fruit size, hang times, and tree growth.

It's not as rare as all the plant nurseries like to claim about their own named crab varieties that only they sell. But yes you do need the space and waiting time like 5-7 years to pick em out.

Also smart choice by you and the wife on something related to potatoes but worth a lot more. See plenty of taters grown in the central sands region where you are.

 

[Barndog56]

Dahlias have 8 sets of chromosomes, so hybridizing really is a lottery. There are breeders who create their own specific crosses, and we're dabbling in that a little bit, but for the most part we just plant the ones we want to use for seeds in the same bed and let the bees take it from there.

The majority of large dahlia farms are located in Washington and Oregon, but small farms are scattered all over. There's probably a dahlia farm located within an hour drive of every member of this forum, but they don't need a lot of space so you may never see it.