By the early 1800’s nurserymen were creating attractive blooms through hybridization and for a brief period dahlias became popular. However, interest soon waned since it was felt they had achieved all possible color and form combinations. In 1872 tubers were shipped from the mountains of central Mexico to Holland, but only one survived; this one tuber, when crossbred with the earlier stock, became the parent of the thousands of modern garden dahlia cultivars we know today.
