Frequent Questions
When do Dahlia tubers ship?
We start shipping in the first week of April. Orders go out by growing zone and in the order received The anticipated shipment date for your order may shift depending on the local weather forecast and temperatures at the time of shipping. We ship from Vermont and check the forecast before shipping any live plants. Orders placed in May will ship in the order that they come in, we continue shipping until the end of May.
When do gifts, books, seeds and other bulbs ship?
Gifts, books, seeds, bulbs and corms ship separately from dahlia tubers and will leave our farmhouse within a week* after placing the order.
If your order is a gift, you can leave a personal message during checkout and we will add a handwritten card with your message to your gift package.
Why don’t you offer Free Shipping?
Tuber clumps are larger and heavier than single tubers and therefore more expensive to ship, for example we can fit 8-10 clumps in a medium USPS flat rate box compared to 15-20 singles, or 12-14 clumps in a large USPS flat rate box compared to 30-40 singles.
You may receive more than one box, depending on the size of your order. We are a small company that hand-ships all our orders. We don’t qualify for bulk carrier discounts and can’t absorb the cost of free shipping without raising the price of our tubers. We want to keep our tubers affordable for all growers.
Are your tubers certified?
We are licensed and inspected by the Vermont State Department of Agriculture. Our tubers passed inspection by the VAAFM in the Fall and are inspected again before shipping out.
Are your tubers grown locally?
We produce a large number of dahlia tubers on our Vermont farm, and also import directly from Dutch, British and Polish flower farms to meet demand. Our Vermont tubers typically become available in the Spring after we’ve completed dividing. Imported varieties are available for purchase in the Fall and will ship the following Spring.
What’s the difference between a single-tuber and a tuber-clump?
Single tubers are finger-size roots that were divided off the mother tuber. Single tubers are guaranteed to have one eye.
Tuber clumps are a set of small tubers attached to a neck that often holds multiple eyes. Tuber-clumps are grown from stem cuttings that were planted in greenhouses as plugs. The plugs grow into small clumps, or mini-clumps, over the course of one season.
Because of washing techniques required to comply with rigorous export rules, tubers may appear darker or can have some skin damage. Due to mechanical harvesting some tubers may have broken necks. But the stem, the base, and the tuber heads all host growing eyes, as well as the energy to start the growth. Your tubers will grow just fine, even if they appear to have slight damage.
You can plant the whole clump, no need to divide further. We recommend leaving the clump intact for the first growing season and don’t warrant divided clumps. Plant with the stem base facing upward, with the tubers pointing down or laying sideways. Plant just a few inches below the surface so the sun can warm the soil which allows the eyes to sprout.
You can find the origin and type of each dahlia variety listed in the details on their individual product page.
Are your tubers guaranteed?
We guarantee that our products are viable and will grow IF the right conditions are met (see details on our Guarantee page ). When the soil temperature is warm enough, your Dahlias should sprout through the soil within 3-5 weeks. If the soil is too cold, it will stunt the growth and the tuber may end up rotting. Contact us no later than August 1st to report any issues.
Plant height, plant disease, insect damage, bloom color and bloom shape are not covered by our warranty. Tubers or clumps that were either forced, grown in pots, or further divided from what you had received are not covered under warranty.
Should we run into a shortage of tuber supply resulting from crop failure or storage failure on our part, we will either replace or refund your purchase for the portion of the missing tubers.
Do you charge double shipping on multiple orders?
Shipping is a very labor intensive and manual process. Combining orders into one shipment adds a significant amount of processing time. With the increasing number of orders we receive, we unfortunately won’t be able to offer this service any longer. Your orders will be shipped separately in the order received.
Why can’t you allow order changes?
Because of the complexity when processing pre-sale orders of perishable items, we can’t make any order changes after the initial order has been placed. Adjustments after processing inevitable lead to system and inventory errors, our software is simple not built to support that.
If you wish to add to your order, just place a new order and leave a comment in the checkout.
If you have ordered multiple items that are set up to ship separately, you will receive a separate email confirming each shipment.
At any time after you placed your order you can check the order status on our website using your order id (order number) in your order confirmation email, and the email address that you used to place the order.
