Introduction of Paula's Dahlias

Update: 

I had a limited dahlia tuber sale in December.  I sold six dahlia cultivars to the Garden Bee Hive members.  I did have a drawing and gave eight individuals (newsletter subscribers and Instagram story followers) a chance to place an order for Paula's Miss Confident, Ellie, and Raven.  Congratulations to the winners!  Isabel Cardenas, Ruthie Sue, Nancy Marin, Melissa Acton, Brittany French, Meghan’s Pink and Peonies, Min Ko, and Lindsay Kronick.

I did sell tubers of Paula's Miss Confident and Paula's Ellie on my website.  I notified my Instagram story followers and my website subscribers.  My first dahlia tuber sale was very limited.  I hope I will have a lot more tubers to offer in December of 2026.  Thank you for following along with me.  I appreciate the support.

End of Update.

I am happy to announce that I will be selling tubers of six of my dahlias from seed this month.  The dahlia tubers will ship in April of 2026.  The Garden Bee Hive has first access to my sale.  The Garden Bee Hive members will pay a yearly membership of $29.95.  Each dahlia tuber is $24.95.  There are limits to the number of tubers the members can purchase.  Each member can purchase one tuber of Paula's Paul Wix, Doris Jane, Raven, and Mollie Sue.  They can purchase 1 to 3 tubers of Paula's Ellie or Miss Confident.  After the tuber sale to the Garden Bee Hive members, I will review to see if I can offer any more tubers and announce it on my Instagram stories and to my website subscribers.  I wrote a blog about "The Challenges of Growing Dahlias" this month if you want more details about some of the issues I faced as a dahlia grower in 2025.  I hope tuber production will be better in 2026, and I will have more tubers available for sale in December of 2026.

Garden Bee Hive is a yearly membership. This membership gives you first access to Paula’s dahlia tuber sale in the current season. There will be limits on the number of tubers of each Paula's dahlia cultivars so you may only be able to purchase one to three of each of the Paula’s dahlias that are available. The available dahlias will be listed on Garden Bee Flower Farm website prior to the tuber sale.  I will send each member an email in December which will list what I will have available for sale and the date of the tuber sale. You will need to respond back to me and place your order within a few days of the start of the tuber sale. It will still be first-come, first serve; however, you will be shopping with less than fifty people. You will be billed after you place your order which is due upon receipt. The tubers will ship in April of 2026.  If you do not purchase in the timeframe of that private sale time, you may not be able to enjoy any of Paula’s dahlias as they will probably sell out once the tuber sale opens to the public as dahlias are very popular. This membership is only valid for the December 2025 tuber sale and my dahlia seed sale in December 2025. This membership is not refundable. You will need to renew your membership each year.  There are limited memberships and the Garden Bee Hive club is full at this time.

I am happy to be selling tubers of Paula's Raven.  This dahlia has a very dark red almost black color. I find it is a true dark red as it does not have purple tones. The bloom size is around 3.5 inches across.  If you do not disbud, the bloom size will be smaller.  These dark red tones would be beautiful in a floral arrangement. It has a ball form as the petals curve inward and form a circular almost heart shape look. The dahlia grows to around 3 to 4 feet tall in my garden. I harvest my dahlias when they are 3/4 opened as I love the less mature look and longer vase life. The color is deeper also. Raven has stayed very consistent since its first year in 2022. The center stays closed and tight. ADS#6007 Ball, DR.

Paula's Paul Wix is a bronze formal decorative dahlia.  The bloom size is around 4.25 inches across at maturity.  If you do not disbud, the bloom size will be smaller.  He blooms all summer tolerating our humid summers in North Carolina with great form and a closed center.  I love the bronze color.  When we have very hot and humid weather, some of the earlier blooms can have a slight pink blush.  I like to cut my blooms when the dahlia bloom is about 3/4 open and not fully mature as I love the darker bronze color in the center and the longer vase life.  As the dahlia matures on the plant, he becomes a softer bronze color especially in the fall.  I did enter Paula's Paul Wix at the Carolinas Dahlia Society show in September 2024 and September 2025.  He did win a blue ribbon in the open competition.  Paula's Paul Wix passed an ADS Seedling Bench Evaluation in September 2025 at the Carolinas Dahlia Society show with a score of 89.5 and he was classified as a BB, FD, BR.  I named this dahlia after my father.  My father was a strong, hard working man who loved collecting antique oil lamps.  I was so glad he was able to see my dahlia field before he passed away.  I wanted to name my first dahlias from seed after my parents.  The seed parent was from Blyton Softer Gleam.  I have been growing this dahlia since 2021.  The dahlia grows to around 3 to 4 feet tall.  ADS#3011, BB FD BR.

Paula's Doris Jane is a pink formal decorative dahlia.   The bloom size is 4.25 inches across at maturity with a great bloom angle.  If you do not disbud, the bloom size will be smaller.  In my garden, she grows at 3 feet tall.  I cut the first blooms as soon as I can to encourage more blooms and longer stems throughout the growing season.  She blooms all summer tolerating our humid summers in North Carolina with great form and a closed center.  I cut blooms until our frost in late October.  I like to cut my blooms when they are 3/4 open as I love the deeper color in the center and the longer vase life.  My friend Andrea in Woburn, Massachusetts grew Paula's Doris Jane in 2025, and Doris Jane grew to at least 4 feet tall and was very floriferous.   Andrea did have some blooms almost 5 inches across after disbudding.  Andrea said that Doris Jane had a long vase life and that her local florist loved the dahlia.  Paula's Doris Jane probably loved the cooler weather up in Massachusetts!  I named this dahlia after my mother.  My mom passed away many years ago so she did not know that I started a dahlia farm in North Carolina.  My mom loved to grow flowers and would sprinkle flower seeds in her gardens each fall, and we would have beautiful blooms to enjoy the next spring and summer.  I know my Mom would have loved this pink, formal decorative dahlia.  I have been growing this dahlia since 2021.  The seed parent was Brookside Snowball.   ADS#3004, BB FD PK.

Paula's Mollie Sue. I have been growing this dahlia from seed since 2021. The bloom size is a BB (small) which is over 4 inches and up to 6 inches across in diameter. The bloom position looks upward at an angle with strong stems as the dahlia grows 4 to 5 feet tall. This dahlia does produce some blooms that are all red. She also like to be mischievous and produce sporadic white petals along with the red florets. I do not mind the different variations as it give you a surprise in the garden. The red is a true red and so vibrant in color. All the bloom variations are beautiful but when it is red and white it is just gorgeous.  The dahlia is very photogenic.  I love taking pictures of this dahlia and using the pictures for my Christmas cards to family and friends as the dahlia is so festive and it adds such a personal touch to the Christmas card. This dahlia has variations; however, the real beauty is the feeling of joy it brings to your heart when you see the dahlia in the garden.  The dahlia tolerates our humid summers; however, it has more petal count when the weather is cooler in the evenings.  When our nighttime lows are in the 70's, dahlias do not have time to rest.  Dahlias love temperatures under 90 degrees and nighttime lows less than 70 degrees.  This dahlia is not a high petal count dahlia; however, it has enough petals to have a closed center.  I have named this dahlia Mollie Sue after my mother-in-law. She enjoys her garden, and loves red and white flowers. Red and white were her high school colors. ADS#3013, BB (4"-6"), FD, DB. 4 to 5 feet tall.

Paula's Miss Confident. This vibrant, fiery dark pink dahlia is around 3 inches to 3.5 inches across. I like to cut my dahlias when they are 3/4 the way open as I like the darker pink color in the center and the longer vase. As the bloom matures on the plant, the bloom size becomes bigger and the color can soften more. She made sure that I noticed her in my dahlia garden in 2022. Her petals flow back to the stem giving her a proud, poised look. She tolerates our humid summers. The bloom angle looks upward. She is so confident so I named her Miss Confident. lol. Someone told me that you can never have enough hot pink as it makes the orange and bronze dahlias look even better in floral arrangements. Miss Confident definitely stands out! She grows around 3 to 4 feet tall in my garden.  She has the stellar form; however, her petals can have a little wave to them.  The American Dahlia Society says that stellar form is where the petals are long and narrow along their length with pointed tips preferred.  The stellar form does exhibit space between the petals in each row but has a uniform, regular arrangement.  I do remove spent blooms and keep her cut so that she produces more blooms to enjoy.  She does like to produce seed so keep her cut back so she stays in production mode and not seed production mode until the fall.  I plant my dahlias in late April to early May, and Paula's Miss Confident starts blooming in July and blooms until frost.