New flower discovered in Enumclaw, WA: 'Daffodahlia'

Daffodahlia discovered at Enumclaw Flower Farm

A new flower was discovered by accident in Washington. It’s one-of-a-kind, beautiful and it’s called the "Daffodahlia". Cattle and Cut Flowers, a local flower farm in Enumclaw, has been growing dahlias since 2018. Earlier this month, Kelsey Hall, who runs the farm, began posting photos and videos of the flower, which has since gone viral.

ENUMCLAW, Wash. - A new flower was discovered by accident in Washington. It’s one-of-a-kind, beautiful and it’s called the "Daffodahlia".

Kelsey Hall, owner of Cattle and Cut Flowers in Enumclaw, Washington with her newly discovered "Daffodahlia" flower. (Photo: @cattleandcutflowers via Instagram)

Cattle and Cut Flowers, a local flower farm in Enumclaw, has been growing dahlias since 2018. Earlier this month, Kelsey Hall, who runs the farm, began posting photos and videos of the flower, which has since gone viral—even grabbing the attention of Martha Stewart.

From left to right: Daffodil (Getty Images), Daffodahlia (@cattleandcutflowers), Dahlia (Getty Images)

The flower shop has been bringing flower enthusiasts along on its journey through Instagram. What started as a possibly concerning disease outbreak in the garden has now become a quest to determine if their dahlias have mutated into a completely new species. Now, scientists at Washington State University are running tests.

On Sept. 5, Hall posted a video of the flower asking viewers if it was possibly a new form of dahlia. "I discovered what I am calling a daffodil dahlia hanging out in my bridal tunnel dahlias," she wrote on Instagram. Numerous verified flower shop Instagram accounts commented on the video praising its beauty and begging the flower shop to try to make more.

One user commented, "Daffodahlia!!!!" which has become the top comment, with 345 likes, and seems to be the origin of the flower’s name.

Though the flower community was quite excited, the possibility of a genetic deformity was quite concerning for Hall.

"I do not believe these genetics are stable and potentially not something we’d want circulating into the dahlia community," she wrote. "This is happening on a plant that is a known dahlia that has been out in the dahlia world for a long time. It started off normal, then as we went through the season, it started to change into this and is only producing these identical blooms."

Daffodahlias (Photos: Kelsey Hall at Cattle and Cut Flowers)

Throughout the Daffodahlia journey, Hall had been communicating with other growers, trying to learn more about this phenomenon and determine whether it was potentially caused by a virus or disease. One grower responded, saying they had experienced a similar dahlia bloom, but it was only one single flower, and they have not produced any blooms like it since.

For Cattle and Cut Flowers, Daffodahlias have bloomed on more than one plant from the same stock. Not all plants in the stock are blooming this way, and not every bloom appears in this unique shape. However, as time goes on, more Daffodahlias are emerging.

Hall then sent some of her Daffodahlias to Washington State University for further testing while conducting her own studies.

Martha Stewart reacts to the discovery of the Daffodahlia on Instagram

On Sept. 20, she announced that she would move forward with the Daffodahlia after WSU's tests came back negative for any disease or virus.

"There is bioinformatics testing however, the science is still at a stage where these tests are very costly, and it gives back so much information that it can be overwhelming and researchers are in the initial steps of figuring out how to handle such data," Hall wrote on Instagram. "We feel confident we are not spreading a known disease in our field and the plants are healthy."

Martha Stewart got news of the flower and shared photos of it on her personal Instagram account.

"I knew it was coming because I talked with her team before, but I was pretty shocked when they reached out," said Hall when asked about her reaction to Martha Stewart's repost.

Hall is now working to determine if the mutation can be stabilized. She is letting the blooms stay on the plants and will harvest the seeds to see if the plants can pass the genes through to the next generation.

Before Daffodahlias hit the market, Cattle and Cut Flowers will first confirm that the genetics are stable. On top of that, there’s no guarantee these flowers will bloom like this next season.