Dahlia Tubers from a Small Farm vs Big Online Retailer

March 1, 2024

There are hundreds of places where you can buy dahlia tubers online. Just Google “dahlia tubers” and you’ll be inundated with so many retailers selling them that you might become overwhelmed and just click on the first thing that pops up.

But is buying from the first big retailer that comes up on Google really the best decision? I’ll discuss my thoughts below.

Spoiler Alert: It’s not, and I have a lot of reasons why it’s not, from my own bad experiences.

Big retailers finish first on google for dahlia tubers

Most people will end up overwhelmed with a “dahlia tubers” Google Search and they’ll click on the first 1-10 sites that come up. These massive commercial companies have big budgets for advertising and end up at the very top of the Google page (or their items are the first in Google Shopping) because they pay big bucks to show up there. They know that showing up at the top of the search page means they’ll receive the most clicks and therefore, the most sales.

Massive commercial dahlia tuber retailers include Eden Brothers, Longfield Gardens, Breck’s, Dutchgrown, Holland Bulb Farm, K. Van Bourgondien, Tulip World, Walmart, Home Depot and Lowes, among others.

Big Retailers are able to offer lower pricing and here’s why

Big commercial retailers are able to offer dahlia tubers at lower prices because they are selling tubers in such massive volumes. They are also able to offer free shipping and big % discounts because the sheer volume of sales they make are able to make up the losses of those discounts. Big retailers often get their own shipping discounts from shipping companies because again, they’re rewarded for the sheer volume of product they’re shipping out.

I’ll be honest from experience with buying these cheap commercial dahlia tubers: They aren’t always bad, but they’re mostly not great.

Most dahlia tubers sold by commercial retailers are Dutch-grown tubers that have been grown from cuttings in The Netherlands. Growing dahlia tubers from “cuttings” is an easy way to multiply dahlias in a greenhouse setting without even having to plant them in the ground.

These dahlia tubers are shipped in clump-form, with most of their “fingers” breaking off and starting to shrivel up (or already fully shriveled up and dead… yes that happens often). Also oftentimes, Dutch-grown clumps are shipped with dahlia gall diseases.

Most big retailers do not actually produce the dahlia tubers they’re selling — they are simply a “middle man,” distributing dahlia tubers on a massive, global scale the way most of our goods are distributed today.

how are dahlias from a small farm different?

Most dahlia tubers sold by farms in the United States (either big farms or small farms like mine) have been actually grown on the farm, in American soil, by the farmer selling them. These dahlia tubers are typically shipped in single one-finger pieces, rather than a whole clump, and are rarely, if ever, dried out.

It’s a common misconception that the more “fingers” the dahlia tuber has, the bigger and better it will grow — this not so. The growth of the dahlia depends on several factors, including your garden conditions and vigor of the variety, but good growth also largely depends on how many “growing eyes” the tuber has on it. A healthy clump will have more eyes than a single piece, but if the clump is dried out and shriveled up, what good is that going to do? No good at all.

Additionally, the money you spend buying dahlia tubers from a small farm is given directly to that small farmer — and in theory, this money is re-spent by that farmer to support their life and they will funnel some of that money directly back into whatever community they live in, in the United States. Supporting small American farmers means you’re supporting actual families and communities across the United States — as opposed to supporting a corporation like Walmart.

This may seem obvious at this point but it needs to be said: Supporting small, local farms is one of the most important pieces in deciding where to buy dahlia tubers.

reasons why dahlia tubers from a small farm are better than a big commercial retailer

Dahlia tubers from an American farm have been grown at the source and have traveled less miles and, in theory, have used less fossil fuels in the distribution process. You can translate this to whatever country you live in if you’re not from the Americas.
Dahlia tubers from a small farm have been grown with more attention and care, in theory. I say “in theory” because, for obvious reasons, I cannot vouch for every small farm producer in the United States.
- Single-finger tubers from a small farm will rarely ever be dried out and will always have a viable growing eye (unless someone selling dahlia tubers really doesn’t know what they’re doing). Alternatively, the full clumps from big retailers that have broken fingers and are a dried out mess will sometimes be shipped dead or will simply rot in the ground after planting. Both of these instances have happened for me.
You are more likely to receive the actual varieties you ordered from a small farm.
- E. Brothers is notorious for labeling varieties wrong. I wasted so much money on dahlia tubers from them when I started my business, and received such rude customer service, that I don’t feel bad about naming them here.
Dahlia tubers from a small farm are less likely to be diseased with crown gall or leafy gall, as long as the farmer is aware of what to look for (learn about Leafy Gall and Crown Gall on Dahlias here)
- Dahlia tubers from the Dutch market (ie. all of the commercial retailers listed above) are frequently sold with crown gall and leafy gall. It is a rampant problem in the industry. Nearly all of the gall I’ve received has come from E. Brothers when I used to order from them.
Dahlia tubers on a small farm make up a percentage of that farm’s income and your sales contribute to keeping that farm in business.
- Why do we need small farms?
  Because small farmers conserve precious land and natural resources from getting sold into development. Farms have the potential to sequester carbon from the atmosphere using regenerative growing practices. Farms contribute to local economies and the greater GDP. Farms are pillars of community in an ever-increasing world of isolation. Farms touch us all, whether we’re aware of it or not, and small farmers will only be able to continue to provide these invaluable services to society if we have monetary support from consumers.
- Supporting locally-grown flowers is as important as supporting locally-grown food!
Varieties of dahlia tubers from American farms are generally more vast and exciting.

the only two benefits of ordering dahlia tubers from a big commercial retailer revolve around initial cost

1) The dahlia tubers will generally be cheaper from a big retailer; and

2) You might receive free shipping or a % discount on top of the already-cheap prices.

If buying the cheapest possible thing is important to you, then have a ball with the commercial retailers. I’ve gone over why those two above factors don’t equate to a better product nor a better industry standard, in an effort to spread the importance of supporting local farms and the local flower industry.

I hope you’ll consider sourcing your dahlia tubers from a small American dahlia grower (or a grower in your own continent, if not the Americas) who is dedicated to conserving natural resources and contributing to the local economy.

Click here to see our entire Archive of Dahlia Growing Blog Posts.

peace, love, and local dahlias forever,

Fran Parrish