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Organically Grown Flowers in the Hudson Valley

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Dahlia Tubers

Thank you for another great tuber sale! We’re no longer taking dahlia tuber orders but you can still find a few at the Tiny Hearts Flower Shop in Hillsdale, NY thru May 1.

We’re so happy to make our dahlia tubers stock available for sale to pickup at our flower shop and for nationwide shipping! Read on to learn more…

Tiny Hearts dahlias as featured in the June 2019 issue of Martha Stewart Living.
Photo credit: Ngoc Minh Ngo

We’ve been growing on our tuber stock for years, carefully selecting dahlia varieties that are vigorous growers, great cut flowers, resistant to disease, and beautiful in the garden. 

When you purchase tubers from us, you’re buying our own farm-grown stock. Sold as single tubers, each tuber is guaranteed to have a visible eye. When you receive your tubers, open the box, inspect tubers for damage, and store them in their sawdust in a cool, dry place until planting. We recommend planting as soon as weather and soil conditions permit – please see our planting guide for more information. If tubers are received in unsatisfactory condition, please let us know and send a picture of your tubers within 3 days of receiving them, so we can replace them for you. We are not responsible for tubers damaged due to being improperly stored after arrival, or to loss due to weather or growing conditions.    

local pickup available, too:

Note: For local gardeners wishing to save shipping costs and instead pick up at our Hillsdale, NY flower shop, that option is also available at checkout. Order tubers in advance and pickup your tubers on Fridays and Saturdays beginning April 1th. Please find pickup directions to our flower shop here.


Dahlia Tuber Planting Guide

When to Plant

Dahlias are long-season plants, so plant your tubers at the right time to get the longest flowering period possible in the late summer and fall. As a general rule, plant as soon as you’re sure the last frost date has passed and/or soil temperature is around 60 degrees.

Where to Plant

Find a sunny spot – the more sun, the more flowers! Well-drained soil is best (heavy, moist soil can rot tubers) and dahlias tend to like slightly acidic soil. Since tubers have to be planted fairly deep and have room to make nice roots and more tubers, well-worked garden soil makes them happy.  

How to Plant

Plant tubers 6” deep and 18” – 24” apart. We put a scoop of compost or a handful of balanced fertilizer in the planting hole. Place your tuber horizontally in the hole, and cover. If the ground is dry, go ahead and water your newly planted tubers. Go light on the watering (only water if the soil is dry) until sprouts emerge or you could be risking tuber rot.

When Sprouts Emerge

Now is the time to start watering deeply. Dahlias are water hogs and a light spray won’t do the trick. Water has to reach down the full 6” to the tuber. 

When plants start putting on some growth, we foliar feed with fish/kelp emulsion every 10 days or so until buds are initiated. Dahlias prefer low nitrogen – once plants begin flowering, we stop fertilizing. Too much nitrogen leads to big, bushy plants with few flowers.

Trellising

Most varieties of dahlias need trellising. For home gardens, bamboo trellising works nicely, or if you’re growing a larger quantity consider the Florida weave or Hortonova netting. 

Pinching

Pinching does wonders to create bushy plants and long stems. This is a necessity if you’re planning to cut dahlias for the vase. When the plant is 12” or so tall, pinch down to three leaf sets. It can seem harsh, but it works!

Digging and Storing Tubers

In colder climates, tubers must be dug and stored over the winter. Once frost has killed your plant, cut the plant back to about 6”. Using a fork or shovel, loosen the soil around the clump and lift it out of the dirt, being careful not to break off the ends of the tuber clumps. Brush excess soil off the clumps and store them over winter in a cool, dark place that stays around 40 – 45 degrees.

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Bunches, bouquets, arrangements, and wreaths @tiny Bunches, bouquets, arrangements, and wreaths @tinyheartsflowershop, all made up of flowers grown and dried on the farm over the summer season. 💕
Our first tulips are at @tinyheartsflowershop this Our first tulips are at @tinyheartsflowershop this week! I’m just out of the greenhouse this cold morning and headed up there 💫 We’re open Wednesday through Saturday 10 - 4 . Come pick up some tulips to get you through the icy weekend, get a sneak peek for Valentine’s Day, and see some of the gorgeous dried flowers and wreaths Blair has been whipping up this wintry season.
January flowers 💫💫💫 First 600 stems out t January flowers 💫💫💫 First 600 stems out the door yesterday! There will be bunches of these and more @tinyheartsflowershop tomorrow!
Tulips are slowly starting to roll in but are pick Tulips are slowly starting to roll in but are picking up steam fast! 20 stems the first day, 70 the next, a few crates the next. We’ll have the first bunches available @tinyheartsflowershop next weekend! Meanwhile, picking tulips in a sunny greenhouse in January is not a terrible way to spend a New York winter ❄️❄️❄️
We’re back! We took a couple weeks off to visit We’re back! We took a couple weeks off to visit family in my hometown of Carmel, CA but now we’re farming it up again in snowy NY. @tinyheartsflowershop is open from 10 - 4 today and tomorrow!
Late afternoon light in the Bulbodome, somehow loo Late afternoon light in the Bulbodome, somehow looking bright on this dreary of dreary rainy days. Luke is almost finished building the interior wall that separates the storage/rooting side from the growing side. Tulips growing in the foreground, paperwhites blooming against the wall 💫

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