Dahlia tubers?

[Anonymous]

Anyone have recommendation for good quality dahlia (dinner plate) tubers? I bought some last year that didn't bloom and want to try again this year. Thanks in advance!

[Anonymous]

Costco will soon have bags of them. They are cheap and of excellent quality. If you want to do mail order Brent and Becky's bulbs, White Flower Farm and Swan Island dahlias are great. If you are not a Costco member then you can buy directly from thier supplier, Longfield Gardens. Order quickly as they tend to go fast.
Do you have them in a sunny spot??

[Anonymous]

NP. I planted about 20 White Flower farm dahlias lo different types ast year and none bloomed. Hoping maybe they do this year, but I just didn't have any luck (had them planted in front and back of the house, sunny spots). Just didn't take. I did get some sprouting but they just never finished growing. I think they might be fussy.

[Anonymous]

Diner plates can take a long time to bloom. I had good luck with a few varieties last year: Holly Huston, Ben Huston Babylon Red, Vancouver, Bodacious. The best variety for me is Kelvin Floodlight, early and prolific for a dinner plate.
I like prolific blooms so I always plant single and smaller flowered dahlias.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Costco will soon have bags of them. They are cheap and of excellent quality. If you want to do mail order Brent and Becky's bulbs, White Flower Farm and Swan Island dahlias are great. If you are not a Costco member then you can buy directly from thier supplier, Longfield Gardens. Order quickly as they tend to go fast.
Do you have them in a sunny spot??

Thank you! I do have a sunny spot--I bought some last year and they sprouted but did not bloom. Going to try again hopefully with better luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Diner plates can take a long time to bloom. I had good luck with a few varieties last year: Holly Huston, Ben Huston Babylon Red, Vancouver, Bodacious. The best variety for me is Kelvin Floodlight, early and prolific for a dinner plate.
I like prolific blooms so I always plant single and smaller flowered dahlias.

What brand?

[Anonymous]

Swan Island is good.

They also need a lot of water and a lot of nice compost and maybe even fertilizer (although our clay soil is super fertile).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Diner plates can take a long time to bloom. I had good luck with a few varieties last year: Holly Huston, Ben Huston Babylon Red, Vancouver, Bodacious. The best variety for me is Kelvin Floodlight, early and prolific for a dinner plate.
I like prolific blooms so I always plant single and smaller flowered dahlias.

What brand?

Costco and Brent and Becky’s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Costco will soon have bags of them. They are cheap and of excellent quality. If you want to do mail order Brent and Becky's bulbs, White Flower Farm and Swan Island dahlias are great. If you are not a Costco member then you can buy directly from thier supplier, Longfield Gardens. Order quickly as they tend to go fast.
Do you have them in a sunny spot??

Thank you! I do have a sunny spot--I bought some last year and they sprouted but did not bloom. Going to try again hopefully with better luck!

I am a member of a FB group called “Dahlia information on growing and exhibiting” which has lots of useful information. Floret Flowers also has a lot of useful tips for growing. I have found them pretty foolproof. Most of mine are grown in containers against conventional wisdom and still do well. Pinching the stems is important for good flowering.

[Anonymous]

http://www.dahliaaddict.com/suppliers.php

Go right to the source! Check the reviews, which are from dahlia addicts (Swan Island has pretty low reviews, fwiw).

I placed orders with Dahlias by Julie, Columbia River Dahlias and I forget who else (I chose, I paid, now I get to wait and let the surprises-by-spring arrive!).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:http://www.dahliaaddict.com/suppliers.php

Go right to the source! Check the reviews, which are from dahlia addicts (Swan Island has pretty low reviews, fwiw).

I placed orders with Dahlias by Julie, Columbia River Dahlias and I forget who else (I chose, I paid, now I get to wait and let the surprises-by-spring arrive!).

The boutique suppliers are either entirely sold out or the best varieties are gone. The big growers still have a decent variety of stock left.

[Anonymous]

Dahlias are on the Costco website if you want to see the options they will have. I believe Costco still gets there tubers from Longfield Gardens. I have been very happy with everything I have purchased from Longfield.

[Anonymous]

I saw dahlia tubers at Wheaton Costco today but the selection was not as great as last year. It's still early though, so they might get more soon.
Just a word of caution: one of my Costco/Longfield dahlias ended up developing leafy gall which is a contagious bacterial disease. It is supposedly more common in tubes imported from Dutch growers. I had to dig out the tuber and a chunk of soil at the end of the season and trash it.

[Anonymous]

Any more suggestions on suppliers? I have checked a few listed (not Costco) and they are already sold out.

[Anonymous]

The best varieties would be largely sold out by now from the best suppliers. You can try searching Dahlia Addict for sources with your specific variety names.