I sell mine in mixed bouquets, usually mixed with other summer flowers. But that is just how my business works. At our farmers market someone sells them at so much per stem, or so many for so much$$. Can't remember what the figures are.

We have aprox 1000 dahlia plants in the field along with sunflowers plus other assorted flowers we use/sell for filler. We sell by the stem and the Dahlias are in their own buckets as a mass of mixed colours and types. Most customers are drawn by the mass of colour and are careful when chosing and pulling stems.

People seem to love to making up their own bouquets - I tell my customers that they should pretend that they're in their own garden. I may loose 3 or 4 flowers/day due to damage, but I think of the time I save not making up multiple bouquets. Plus I will make bouquets at the market from items that don't sell well individually. They sell well too.

Phil

Except for some bouquets made with the small dahlias, we sell single stems just like Flower Phil; and, for the same reasons: people really like to pick out their own stems. People are automatically drawn to the masses of color. We also make specialty bouquets at market.

Happy upcoming birthday Flower Phil! Ask for a generator and portable hot water heater as a gift- then you can cut into hot water in the middle of your dahlia acres. ; )

What is a hydrating solution? What are its ingredients?

Thanks for the help.

Teresa

With all that picking and choosing from a central bucket, doesn't that much handling by the public hurt the stems or flowers? I've only been VERY minimally around a few dahlias ever,(saw a program on them at a garden club meeting last year & speaker had some on display!) so growing my small sample group of 150 or so is a new experience, to say the least! I'm really not familiar w/ how hardy they are when shoved around in a bucket.

And flowerfarmer, what kind of containers are you using to hold your $40.00 preplanted dahlia pots? Glazed ceramic? LOL!--partly. A local Lowe's has some short ones in bloom in a plastic terra cotta pot (16" looked fairly nice except needed some dead-heading), for something like $16.99. Of course, IT's "Lowe's", and you're not, you have much higher quality, I'm sure. Just wondering what kind of pot you use, and what kind of reactions you get to your $40.00 price.

An aside and explanation for my question: An older couple came into the nursery a week or so ago, asked the price of our grass sod rectangles out front. We said $1.25, and they left in the BIGGEST huff we've ever seen! Looked like a cartoon character w/ smoke at their heels. Good riddance, as they were the rudest people we've seen in a while! So I can imagine what people like them might say about a $40.00 container! LOL! I think grass at Lowe's or Walmart is like .75 or .95, like they're going to "save" all that much by the time they drive two miles and get out and shop etc.

Anyway, back to pricing dahlias. Do you charge more for different sizes, ie, Dinner Plates, or little poms, or Karmas? Do your buyers quibble that one color (or variety) is $X, but the next one is $Y? I know we talked about Karms's some earlier this year, but I never did hear a price for them.

Thanks,

Susi.

Ha. Had to laugh about the sod; and, do we have people like that at market? You betcha. We don't call them customers though. I just read a post over on the Professional Forum. A gal quit her job in the corporate world basically because she was tired of working for a jerk. Now she is doing gardening jobs. Guess who her customers are? Right. Those same jerks. The great thing about doing market is we see all kinds of people. Some are complete jerks; and, so full of themselves you want to puke. Some buy our flowers. Some don't. But, the great thing is we don't have to work for them. And, the best part is that we always have a story after each and every market just like your sod story Susi. You would think by now we might have seen and heard it all. But, no. Some of our favorites are when they ask if the bouquet needs sun or shade. Or, better yet: Should I take it home and plant it? We have the deadpan look down to a science now. Oh, man. Did I ever get off track. Anyway, my favorite thing about this business is the market. It is just the end all.

Regarding the potted dahlias. Yes. Well, we plant them in imported Italian pots which are very costly to say nothing of the shipping charge. Actually, they are nice patio pots which we get for a song and a dance because it's who ya know, and not what ya know comes in handy--sometimes. Of course we aren't Lowe's, Home Depot or Walmart. Don't even want to be one when I grow up.

As far as dahlias being mishandled. Yes. Sometimes. That's part of marketing. We lose a few; but, generally people are careful. At least they're buying. Sometimes we'll float the flowerheads in a pretty little dish on display. We also give broken ones away to children. By the way, I have wanted to mention this when people write about giving flowers to the little girls. Little boys love flowers. They love picking out a bouquet for their grandmother, mother, aunt, themselves, whoever. Let's not forget that.

Why am I so tired?????

Phil