Dahlia FAQ

When You Receive Your Tubers

Please open and inspect your tubers promptly upon arrival. We pack them into cardboard boxes and then into loose pine shavings. Take your time unpacking so that you don’t accidentally break off any sprouts that may have started growing.

Tuber Eyes

All of our tubers are individually inspected twice before we pack them into the shipping boxes. We only send tubers that have at least one visible eye. Some have begun to sprout, others have not. We circle the eye/s if we think they may be tough for a beginning dahlia grower to spot. If you think you received a tuber without an eye, please send us an email with your order number and photos of the tuber, making sure the stamped variety name is visible in at least one of the photos. Please email within 2 days of receiving them in the mail. This will be the start of our record of this particular tuber, and you will need to update us again if the tuber hasn’t sprouted with 6 weeks of planting. 

Broken Sprouts

If a sprout is accidentally broken off, it’s okay, and the tuber will grow another. It’s possible to grow a whole new plant from the broken sprout. It doesn’t always work, but it’s certainly worth a try! Just stick the sprout into a small pot of moist potting soil. Push the broken end about half way into the soil. Cover it with a clear dome, or plastic bag to keep the humidity up and place in a sunny window or under grow lights. Mist it once a day if you can’t see any condensation in the grow pot. Keep your fingers crossed, and in 2-4 weeks, you should see some roots and leaf growth if it works out. :)

Mold

When the tuber leave our climate controlled conditions, and go into a box and travel across the country, they can sometimes start sprouting a little mold, especially if the temps are warm during transit. Just take a toothbrush or small paintbrush and gently brush the mold away. Then you can lightly dust that area of the tuber with some cinnamon, and proceed as usual.

Other Concerns

If you have other concerns about your order, send us an email with your order number and several photos of the tubers or other issue, such as damaged packaging. If your concerns are about the tubers, please make sure the stamped names are visible in at least one of the photos. Please email within 2 days of receiving your tubers in the mail.

Issues Beyond Our Control

This section is currently in progress. Check back tomorrow. Thank you!

Mislabels

We are implementing various practices to reduce and eliminate the issue of mislabels. Since we are a new farm, we are learning as we go, and will actively adjust and adapt as often as needed to eliminate this frustrating issue. We want happy and returning customers, so if we get one wrong, please reach out to us and let us know so that we can try to make it right. Send a photo of your dahlia bloom and the order number. You have until October 1st of the current growing season to submit a claim. 

Response Times

Even though this is a family business, I (Birdy), am the only one answering emails, social media posts and various other messaging outlets. Please be patient with me, as I try to balance everything. I will do my best to get back to you within 1-3 days. If a week goes by, please reach out to me again, in case your email or message was lost or accidentally overlooked. Thank you! :)

Planting Instructions

~BEFORE YOU BEGIN~ Wait until the soil is 55-60 degrees before planting, and after the danger of frost has passed, usually around May 15th in Minnesota. Keep your tubers in a cool, dark place like a garage or basement until then. All tubers are different shapes and sizes, but if they have an eye (sprout) they are viable. 

~PLANTING~ Find a sunny spot in your yard—the more sun the better. They can handle partial shade, but they won’t bloom as much and it may shift their colors slightly. Loosen up the soil with a shovel or pitchfork. Adding some compost or bone meal or slow-release nitrogen-rich fertilizer to your soil is beneficial. Dig a hole or trench 6" deep and plant your tubers on their side (horizontally) with the sprout facing up, 12-24" apart, and then cover with soil. If your tubers have already started sprouting before planting, you can still plant 6” deep and the sprouts will still push through the soil.

Once you have planted, do not water until you see sprouts popping up out of the soil. Tubers rot very easily, and there is usually enough moisture in the soil to get them started. Your soil should only be lightly damp. Once the green sprouts have emerged and two leaves are visible, keep your dahlias watered all summer. If it doesn't rain, give them a deep water at the base of the plant to saturate the soil every week. You may need to water more often if there’s no rain in the forecast, or when planting in containers. 

~MULCHING~ Once the sprouts have emerged from the soil, mulching with straw, dried leaves or grass clippings is a good idea to suppress weeds and hold in moisture.

~PINCHING~ This is an optional step, but common in flower growing. Once the plant is 1 foot tall with 3 or 4 sets of leaves, you can snip off the top of the plant.  Snap off the central stem just above the 3rd or 4th set of leaves. This is encourages the plant to branch out and produce more blooms. It also helps prevent them from getting too tall and toppling over.

~STAKING~ Dahlias need support or they can fall over. If you only have a couple of plants then tomato cages work great. However, if you're growing a whole row, you may consider using t-post stakes on both ends and tying twine around to corral them. Other options are individual stakes, made of fiberglass, metal, bamboo or wood for each plant and securing them to the stake with garden twine. 

~FERTILIZING~ You can fertilize your dahlias every other week after they push through the soil to help them grow into robust plants with more blooms. Begin with a balanced fertilizer (5-5-5) or something that is heavier in nitrogen (5-1-1). Once buds form, you can continue with a balanced fertilizer (5-5-5) or switch to something that promotes blooms (0-10-10).

~HARVESTING~ If you want your dahlia plants to produce as many flowers as possible, you have to harvest them. Cut the stems bouquet length every time (about 12-18"). You will end up sacrificing buds, but you'll encourage the plant to keep sending up nice long stems and produce more flowers. If you’re unable to harvest all the blooms, deadhead and remove the blooms after their peak bloom.

~DISEASE PREVENTION~ Mid-season, strip the lower sets of leaves from the stems, so no leaves are touching the ground. This helps control pests, and improves air flow which helps prevent powdery mildew. 

The American Dahlia society recommends sanitizing your tools between plants to reduce the spread of disease. You can visit their website for more information on this topic.

~OVERWINTERING~ Dahlia tubers in Minnesota and other areas of the world with below freezing temps, have to be lifted out of the ground and stored inside to live through the winter. They will freeze and turn to mush if left in the ground. Ideal storing conditions are 40-50 degrees with medium to high humidity, depending on your location. Here in Minnesota, we are below freezing most of the winter with very low humidity. The humidity is so low, that our tubers will shrivel up and dry out if not stored properly. We store ours in lightly damp pine shavings inside plastic shoe bins with the lid on. We keep them in our temperature controlled garage at 42-45 degrees and 90 percent humidity. We use Govee  digital thermometer/hygrometers to monitor temperature and humidity throughout the winter. 

Some Notes About Our Methods

🌱We try to reduce the amount of single use plastics used in all of our shipping and packaging, and choose materials that can be recycled, composted or repurposed. 

🌱We go through a 2 step packing process where your order is initially pulled and put into a holding container (red check marks on your packing slip) and then your order is double checked and packed into it’s shipping box (green check marks on the packing slip). This process helps us to eliminate issues with quality, quantity, wrong variety etc.

🌱We use all organic methods in growing our flowers, tubers, seeds, vegetables and fruits. We are actively working to learn and implement restorative and regenerative practices that are beneficial to the environment, and in turn, all living things. This is of course, a work in progress, and we must constantly remind ourselves that the goal is progress over perfection. :)