If you are looking for Dahlia tubers to plant this Spring check out the Dahlia growers here in the states or from local Dahlia societies who walk, talk and breath Dahlias.

The reason I like purchasing from smaller growers is that the Dahlias tubers you order are the Dahlias you receive. Novel; isn’t it? There are one or two online companies (not a brick and mortar store) that I have purchased from and half of the order came a different color, different style or class and it took me 80 some days of planting, watering, pinching, staking before the first blossom opened.

The memory is pretty much etched in my mind because the first flower to unfurl was a small purple decorative and I had ordered white ball Dahlias. A head scratching moment that gave way to a wipe of my brow, like a teacher erasing a blackboard equation, to see clearer. I’ll report it did not change what was before me by any stretch of the imagination.

Like any positive thinking human I passed the purple bloom off as an odd one mixed in—when all one hundred Dahlias bloomed the same color then positivity nearly escaped my reach. If you are agreeing to grow a specific number of white Dahlias for a wedding there is not much, if any, room for error in July/August. Even if you were ordering Dahlias for your garden you would still have a plan and a color scheme; right? Yes.

I read this year Holly Chapple of Hope Flower Farm ordered large pink Dahlias and didn’t find out she was sent all white Dahlia tubers until they started blooming. I felt her loss and astonishment. I’ve been there. Holly runs a thriving wedding floral business so it makes it that much more painful. It brings us back to that action word called pivot.

The smaller growers move smaller numbers and more than likely they are careful because this is a passionate part of their livelihood. If you call or write you are communicating directly with them as well.

Many small growers can be found on Instagram or Facebook. However some Dahlia enthusiasts just have a website and are not active on any social media platform. I will list some Dahlia growers below.

Connells Dahlias

Summer Dreams Farm

Garden Bee Flowers

Cold Water Flowers

Sunny Meadows Flower Farm

The Happy Dahlia Farm

Cold Water Flowers

The Flower Hat

Bear Creek Farm

Five Fork Farms

Tall Grass Farms

Triple Wren Farms

I’ve only put up a few here but there are more that I can list in another post. The single Dahlia tubers offered by these growers sometimes sell out in a day and after a recount in early Spring the grower might offer more Dahlia tubers.

Many Dahlias are sold during the Winter months when we crave color the most. It’s also when you are plotting out your gardens or field. Maybe you could be like a good many who buy and walk around the yard in the Spring looking for a bare spot to fill in. I’m laughing because that was me at one time. Now the Dahlias have taken over the yard, the field, and I’m looking at the fence line.

There are larger family-owned companies like Swan Island Dahlias who cultivate nearly 40 acres of Dahlias and are still run passionately like a small grower and I have always received what I have ordered from them. So be sure to check their inventory. They also mail out a beautiful color catalog to carry along with you while you try hard to choose amongst the beauty.

Leave a comment below and share your Dahlia buying experiences. Happy Dahlia Growing!