My Favorite Dahlia Sources/Suppliers
Frost came late here in the Pacific Northwest this season. It’s always a bittersweet moment for me. The first sign of frost (called ‘Frostmas’ amongst growers) officially means the end of the harvest season. It also means the great dahlia dig will begin for those of us that plant dahlias as annuals. The end of the season also means things slow down and I get a bit of a break, which is nice. I’ve also come to learn that the first sign of frost also means, it’s time to start placing those dahlia tuber orders.
Dahlias are currently the world’s most popular flower, both the cut flowers and their tubers. With the demand being so high, it’s best to order early so you can get the varieties you want. There are a few things that can make sourcing dahlia tubers quite tricky. Lucky for you, this post is going to be filled with my advice on when, how, what, and where to order those precious dahlia tubers from.
When & How to Order Dahlia Tubers & Rooted Cuttings
For growers:
You should begin placing orders for dahlia tubers at least six months before your scheduled planting. I say ‘begin’ because some suppliers open their catalog for ordering in the Fall, some open during the Winter, and some open in early to mid-Spring. Depending on the varieties that I’m after, I place orders during all time periods, with the majority of my orders being placed in the Fall. Here is my general ordering timeline:
June: Start putting together a list of new dahlia varieties you’re interested in growing next season. If you want to know my process of how I select which varieties to grow, check out this blog post.
August: Start looking at suppliers and narrowing down who you want to order from. There are a lot of dahlia suppliers and unfortunately, not all of them are reliable. Do thorough research on each company. See how they dig, divide, label, and store their tubers. See if they test their plants for any viruses or diseases.
September: Get your list finalized. Set a tuber budget and stick to it! It’s very easy to go crazy and buy everything (yes, buying dahlia tubers is really dangerous), but remember, baby steps. Unless you are an experienced dahlia grower, I don’t recommend dropping a ton of money on tubers. The last thing you want is to invest a ton of money all at once and end up losing all the tubers you bought because you couldn’t keep up with all of your plants.
October/November: Some suppliers have opened for orders during this time. Place orders for the rarest and most unique varieties that you want the most on your list first.
December/January: More suppliers have opened for orders. Place orders for the newly introduced varieties you want and/or other varieties that you wanted. I would include one to two extra orders of those most wanted dahlia varieties that you previously ordered. Having backups is always a good plan in case anything goes wrong either on the supplier’s side of things or on your side of things.
March/April: All suppliers should be open for orders. Common varieties or varieties that were low on your priority list can be purchased at this time. If you didn’t get a chance to order backups of those dahlia varieties you really wanted, this is the time to do so. This is also around the time that suppliers start to ship dahlia tuber orders. Be on the lookout for your orders!
For home gardeners:
If you are not picky and just want dahlias in your garden, you can wait until mid to late-Spring to start ordering and purchasing. However, if you want rare and unique dahlia varieties in your garden, I highly recommend to start purchasing in Fall and/or early to mid-Spring. The earlier you can order the better.
What to Order
Dahlias are fairly easy to propagate. Because of this, many suppliers have started to sell rooted cuttings of dahlias in addition to dahlia tubers. Which should you buy? Well, it depends.
If it is a rare/new/unique variety that is fairly expensive, buy the tuber and propagate your own rooted dahlia cuttings.
If it is a high demand variety, get both. Rooted cuttings flower sooner than tubers, which means you can get stems out to market sooner. However, if you have a tuber, you can propagate more cuttings, allowing you to multiply your stock even faster.
If it is a common or not in demand variety, get the tuber and propagate if you want.
Should you buy dahlia tubers or dahlia rooted cutting liners wholesale? I only recommend buying high demand or tried and true varieties wholesale (i.e. Café Au Lait, Cornel, Cornel Bronze, any Jowey series). The reason is because one, dahlia tubers or rooted cuttings are not cheap and two, if you want a high volume of dahlia stems, let it be the varieties that will sell so you can make your investment back and then some.
Where to Order Dahlia Tuber & Rooted Cuttings From
The following are my preferred sources and suppliers of dahlia tubers and rooted cuttings. My criteria that I look for in a source/supplier:
Reputable/reliable
High quality tubers/cuttings
Correct labeling
Customer service
Varieties offered (I like really unique dahlia varieties. Especially varieties that were created here in the Pacific Northwest.)
Swan Island Dahlias is a dahlia farm located in Canby, OR. Owned by the Gitts family for over 96 years, they are the largest dahlia grower and seller in the United States (nearly 50 acres!). If the name ‘Gitts’ sounds familiar to you, the Gitts line of dahlias were bred by this family. Aside from their long family history and experience with dahlias, what I find really unique about Swan Island is that the majority (if not, all) the dahlia tubers they sell are varieties that they bred themselves. Every year, they release new dahlias to their line-up, which I always look forward to seeing (and buying).
Triple Wren Farms is a dahlia farm located in Ferndale, WA. Owned by Steve and Sarah Pabody, they grow beautiful dahlias on 20-acres. What I love about Triple Wren Farms is their Legacy Program. This particular program is focused on fairly compensating dahlia hybridizers while bringing their creations to market. I think that is such a wonderful program because without dahlia hybridizers, we wouldn’t have all the beautiful dahlias we know and love. I respect and admire the work they do and believe they should be fairly credited for it. Because of their Legacy Program, the selection of dahlia tubers Triple Wren offers is very unique. If you want very special and hard to find varieties, this is the source you want to buy from. You can read more about their Legacy Program here.
Stonehouse Dahlias
If you are a fan of Kristine Albrecht of Santa Cruz Dahlias and her creations (KA’s series of dahlias), this is the place to get ‘em. Stonehouse Dahlias is currently the only grower that Kristine is officially working with to get her creations released to market. I believe Stonehouse Dahlias only offers rooted cuttings.
Clearview Dahlias
Owned by Richard and Danielle Parshall, Clearview Dahlias is a small-scale specialty dahlia grower and hybridizer. Located in Snohomish, WA, Richard and Danielle are active members in the Snohomish County Dahlia Society and were mentored by some of the best dahlia hybridizers in the world. They are responsible for the ‘Clearview’ line of dahlias. If you are a fan of the ‘Clearview’ line, this is the place to get them. If you are unfamiliar with the ‘Clearview’ line, check out one of their most demanded varieties called “Clearview Peachy.”
I have to say, some of the best dahlias I’ve seen were grown by my fellow Hmong farmers. The Hmong have a very long history of farming in their ancestry, so it’s no surprise that they are very skilled flower farmers. Therefore, it’s only right that I feature a Hmong grower on this list! Owned by Nang and Cher Yang, Cher’s Garden is located in Madison, WI. They have been flower farmers since 2012 and started offering their dahlia tubers for sale online in 2018. They have a large variety of tubers available, including high demand varieties such as Café Au Lait Royal.
Owned by Jana and Craig, Bonny Blooms is located in Kelso, WA. With over 11 years of dahlia growing experience, Jana and Craig offer a wide variety of unique and highly sought-after dahlia tubers. They are also dahlia hybridizers.
I had the pleasure of visiting Five Fork Farms this past Summer and got to learn about their sustainable farming practices. Owned by the Lam family, the idea of the farm was conceived by the youngest of the bunch, Grace Lam. Grace is a very knowledgeable and gifted dahlia grower. Her dahlia fields are so stunning. With a huge CSA of 600+ people and a sell-out u-pick, you can definitely say Five Fork Farms knows dahlias. They also offer some of their tubers in bulk.
If you follow Floret or watch ‘Growing Floret’ on HBO Max+, you’ve probably seen the owner of this farm already. The Farmhouse Flower Farm is owned by Marryn and her family in Stanwood, WA. Although she grows a variety of flowers, dahlias are the group of flowers that she grows the largest variety of. Which means it’s no secret or surprise that Marryn’s selection of tubers is large and is full of tried-and-true, rare, and unique varieties. If you are local, she does offer a pick-up option for your order.
Leo Berbee Bulb Company
Growers – if you need a large quantity of tubers at wholesale price, Leo Berbee is your source! A family-owned business in Marysville, OH, I appreciate that they do their best to source tried-and-true and high demand varieties. I also appreciate their fast, responsive, and very kind customer service. This site is only available for commercial growers.
I will update this list as I think of more or know of more suppliers. Of course, don’t feel like you are only limited to the sources I mentioned above. I recommend sourcing for tubers from your local flower farmers first before ordering online. In fact, I recommend you try to source all your nursery products locally first before resorting to buy out of state or out of the country. Sourcing locally cuts down on the chance of new invasive species or bad bugs being introduced to our ecosystem, and it’s just more sustainable overall.
Additional Tips:
Subscribe to email lists! Email subscribers are usually the first to know when a source/supplier is planning to open up for orders.
New dahlia tubers and dahlia rooted cuttings should be planted in an area separate from your existing dahlia patch or garden. This could be a separate patch, a greenhouse, or in pots. There are a couple reasons for this.
Although you’re sure that your source handles and stores tubers and cuttings safely and correctly, the risk of plant disease is still there because we can’t control everything. Planting new tubers/cuttings in a separate area is just extra precaution. In the event that new tubers/cuttings introduced to your farm has a virus/disease, having them in a separate area just ensures that you can isolate it faster without it affecting your healthy plants.
Bugs and pests love dahlias. It would be heartbreaking for your new tubers/cuttings to be taken out by these. Planting in a separate and protected area can reduce the chance of bug/pest pressure harming your new dahlia tubers.
I mentioned this before, but I’ll mention it again. Order at least one back up of the varieties that you really want. It is a large gamble to only rely on one dahlia tuber to be viable. I usually order three. I’ll plant two and propagate one.
Learn how to propagate dahlias. Making your own rooted cuttings will save you lots of money in the long run and it will help you multiply your stock faster. You can usually get about 5-7 cuttings out of one tuber. You can get even more if you don’t want to save the tuber.
If you are devoted to growing dahlias, I highly recommend subscribing to DAHLIAaddict. For $5.99/year, you get access to a very large database of dahlia tuber suppliers. The admins of the site update when each supplier has opened for orders. It has definitely saved me a lot of time in my research.
Do not order from Eden Brothers. I will not say anything else, but heed my warning. Don’t do it.
Don’t try to grow every single dahlia variety known to mankind. It’s just not feasible nor is it wise. Spend some time figuring out what you want your dahlia patch to consist of. Do you sell at markets? You should probably focus on bright colored varieties that are hardy and produce abundantly. Do you sell to florists? Find out what colors they need or use the most and grow according to that color palette (don’t go growing every single dahlia in those colors!). Do you want to compete in shows? Focus on growing dahlias that have great show quality. The more specific you get, the better. It makes your selection and buying process meaningful and intentional. I also think it makes the growing process very special when you’re growing varieties that you covet.
I hope this post is helpful to you. Because dahlia tuber ordering time is close to the holiday season, it wouldn’t hurt to add them to your holiday wish list! I always do. 😊
Do you have a favorite source/supplier for dahlia tubers? Feel free to share in the comments below! If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments below, too.
With gratitude,
