Important 2025 Sale Information

2025 Terms & Conditions

• Each listing is for a single tuber, not a clump. I grow all my own dahlias, and these are not dried out imports with broken necks you would see sold at big box stores.

• Every single tuber I offer has been grown out by me in my garden in the PNW to confirm variety and visible health of the plant.

• Every tuber is guaranteed to have a viable eye or sprout, firm body devoid of any rot, and true to variety. Contrary to popular belief, not all tubers have necks! Some of my favorite varieties have no neck at all, less chance of the neck fracturing! The two things a tuber needs to grow into a beautiful plant is a chunk of root (body) and a viable eye.

• I am a licensed and inspected farm in Washington State that is examined annually by the Washington State Department of Agriculture. I ship tubers and cuttings to any of the 48 continental states. Sorry, I am not able to ship to Canada or the European Union at this time. 

• Tuber size, cuts or blemishes: Tubers come in all shapes and sizes. Some varieties produce huge tubers, some produce small ones. I will never sell a tuber smaller than a AA battery in width or length without disclosing it on the listing. I will also never sell a mother tuber. I personally prefer the smaller tubers which have a smaller food storage (smaller tuber size) and usually show more resilience and grow quickly once planted in an effort to gain nutrients from the sun and soil. If a variety produces huge tubers (Bloomquist York and Lakeview Blush are examples of this) I will usually slice the tuber in half to produce a more compact tuber for shipping and growing. These cut tubers grow the exact same as an uncut tuber. Similarly, sometimes there will be a blemish that I cut out of a tuber when freshly divided to lessen the possibility of rot while in storage. These cuts heal over and overwinter perfectly. A piece of the tuber that has been cut out and healed over is perfectly fine and will produce a beautiful plant.

• Sanitization: I devote great detail to sanitizing between varieties during every step of growing and storage. Please check out my Sanitation Practices page for loads of information on this topic. I do my absolute best to give my buyers the highest percentage of getting clean stock.

• Viral & Bacterial testing: Due to the extremely high cost of testing for viral pathogens and false results, it is not possible or realistic for any small grower to test all plants or guarantee them virus-free. Virus can be transferred to plants via water, sap sucking insects, pruning with dirty shears or be living in your soil prior to planting. According to the ADS, 87% of dahlias carry at least one virus. Additionally, 75% of those are said to show no visible symptoms of carrying a virus. Because of this, every single variety of mine has their own set of disinfected shears when pruning, harvesting, and dividing. Furthermore, each variety is kept in their own storage medium amongst their own variety and never cross paths with other cultivars.  I cull hard and often for any plants that are showing any signs of viral load (leaf mottling, stunted growth, mosaic patterns or yellowing on the leaves) to help unknown virus from spreading. I keep a strict bi-weekly regimen of spraying Organic Captain Jacks Deadbug Brew in correlation with organic neem oil and beneficial insects to keep the potential spread from sap sucking insects as small as possible. I have never had gall, leafy or crown, in my garden and am very strict about sourcing new varieties for my collection. Should any concerns arise on my end during the growing season of any varieties, I will contact via email any buyers of that variety and let them know so they can keep an eye on their own stock and provide replacements in other comparable varieties.  

• Shipping Dates: I will start shipping when night temperatures are consistently above freezing in your area. If temperatures are consistently below freezing at your location and you would like your order shipped early, please contact me via email at Sarahjane@willowrockacres.com and I will do my best to accommodate your request. This will include extra charges for heat packs, expedited shipping and/or fully insulated boxes. Please be aware, if you choose to have your tubers shipped early, even when paying for expedited shipping, heat packs and insulated boxes, the tubers are completely out of my control once they are shipped. By making the choice to have your order shipped early you are accepting the responsibility of your tubers possibly freezing in transit. That being said, some shipping services do guarantee overnight shipping, and I am happy to add insurance to packages in excess of the $100 standard insurance at your expense if you choose; usually the price is very minimal. Please also be aware that if something happens in shipping and you are required to start a claim with the shipping carrier, it is usually your responsibility to complete that process. I am here to help with anything along the way, and will work with you however I can to help with the process.

• Combined Shipping: Yes, I will happily combine shipping, with a small caveat. Combining orders creates a significant amount of time and work for me to process on my end. I am happy to put in this extra time for my customers as I am still a small operation and do it all myself. I want you make it as easy as possible for you to come back for other varieties! These sales tend to go quick, and I know the last thing on your mind is entering in a coupon code at checkout for free shipping on subsequent orders. Because of this, my website will charge every order for shipping. Once I get your order, I will see your initial order and will automatically refund all subsequent shipping costs except for a $4 fee per additional order for combined shipping. This fee covers the costs that I am charged by my website host as well as shipping larger quantities in the boxes. This will be done automatically on my end. If you don’t see shipping refunds within 2 weeks of placing your order (sometimes it takes a little while to process these) please reach out to me. I want to make sure you get your shipping refunded and don’t want anything slipping through the cracks. Unfortunately, if your order has already been assigned a tracking number, I am not able to combine shipping.

• Shipping Carriers: All tubers, unless otherwise requested, will be shipped via USPS Priority Mail. Days in shipping vary depending on your location, but from past experiences can be up to 5 days in transit while usually only taking 2-3 days.  USPS Priority Mail comes with a standard $100 of insurance protection. If your order totals higher than that amount and you wish to add additional insurance, the price is usually very minimal. Please send me an email immediately after placing your order so I can give you options. I also have many different options for shipping. If you are more comfortable using UPS or FedEx to expedite shipping, please send me an email and I can work with you to make that happen. Please be aware, this usually costs more than the USPS Priority Mail. Again, please also be aware that if something happens in shipping and you are required to start a claim with the shipping carrier, it is usually your responsibility to complete that process. I am here to help with anything along the way and will work with you however I am able to help with the process.

• Local Pickup: Yes, local pickup is available upon request. You will be charged for shipping at the time of the order and will be refunded all of the shipping fees once pickup is complete. Please email me if you prefer local pickup and I will notify you when your order is ready. If I do not receive confirmation from you within one week of reaching out notifying you that your order is ready, your order will be shipped and no shipping charges refunded. 

• Email Notifications: Make sure you enter in your email address when checking out. Notifications are sent to you via email when you place your order, when your shipping label is printed and when your order is out for delivery. If you do not enter in your email, you will not be notified when your order is shipped or delivered which can result in damaged tubers. Please make sure you do not miss this step! I am not held liable to orders not opened and inspected within 24 hours.

• Order Inspection: Your tubers will arrive individually by variety in a wax lined paper bag with storage medium to insure they don’t lose moisture during shipping. Every tuber will be labeled on the bag and the actual tuber to avoid them getting mixed up once you receive them. After you receive your tubers, open each individual bag and inspect the tubers immediately. It is a good idea to take a picture of each tuber for your records. This provides me with a timestamp of when you first inspected your order.  I take a picture or video of every tuber that leaves my care and have them attached to your account for my records. Make sure to contact me within 24 hours of receipt with any concerns. If your package is not opened in a timely manner and brought inside soon after delivery, there is a good chance your tubers will be exposed to extreme temperatures depending on your climate.  I am not held responsible for orders that are left to the elements in a PO box, mailbox or porch. I am notified when your package is delivered with a timestamp and picture of delivery. This is why it is important for you to check your order and take pictures when you receive it should you have any issues. This protects us both!

• Storage until planting: Once inspected and you have pictures, leave the bags open and store them in a cool, dry place (55° - 68° is perfect) until you are ready to plant outside. Do not leave in an area could have temps lower than 35°. If your tubers freeze, they will be destroyed.

• Planting: Dahlias do best when planted in soil that is an average of 60° Fahrenheit and not overly wet. If you have had a lot of rainfall the week prior to planting your tubers I recommend covering the area with a tarp or other waterproof material to dry out the soil. Plant your tubers 4-5 inches deep horizontal with the soil line. If you see an eye or sprout, point that side toward the sun. Don’t worry if you can’t see where the sprout is, or there a multiple sprouts on different sides. The sprout/sprouts will naturally look for the sun and grow towards it. After you plant your tubers, do not water them until you see greenery peeking above the soil line. If tubers get too wet before growing roots they will rot and die. Too much water is your enemy when planting fresh tubers. Seeing growth above the soil line usually means there is an adequate root system established, and the plant can absorb water. There is a lower chance of rot once your tuber has an established root system. If I see a lot of rain forecasted immediately after planting my tubers, I will cover the rows with a waterproof material to keep the tubers dry. If you choose to do this, make sure to remove that cover as soon as you start to get growth peeking out, so the sprouts have access to the sun. If you choose this method, make sure it is overcast as direct sunlight on tarps or visqueen can heat up the soil to the point of damaging your tubers. I only recommend this method as a helpful tip, please do the research for your climate and make and educated decision for yourself if this is a good option for your growing conditions. A good rule of thumb is to plant tubers around the same time you would plant tomatoes.

• Mislabels: Every tuber I sell is guaranteed to be true to variety. I take detailed precaution during every phase of growing to make sure you are getting the correct variety sold. Every plant has at least one nametag attached to it throughout the entire growing season as well as a spreadsheet of row and placement. Once the growing season is coming to an end, I go through each variety to verify blooms and health of the plant and tag them again with flagging tape in addition to their name stakes. Once they are out of the ground there are always 2 different labels to verify variety to keep from getting mislabels. In the rare case that your tuber blooms and doesn’t look true to variety, please reach out to me immediately. Although I am as careful as I can be, there is always room for human error. Pictures will be required for a replacement the next season and I will help you confirm which variety you are growing. In the case I am not growing that variety out the next season, I will issue a refund.

• Most Importantly, I want you to be 100% satisfied. If you have any questions or concerns about your order, please reach out to me via email within 24 hours of receiving your order and I will work with you to make it right. Please refrain from posting concerns on social media platforms before contacting me and giving me the opportunity to work through issues with you directly. In addition, please do not use social media messaging to contact me as many of those messages get lost or hidden. I do not check those messages regularly. Email is the best and most efficient way to contact me. 

Sarahjane@willowrockacres.com