Terms of Sale and Support
TERMS OF SALE
By purchasing from (GV&K, Inc., dba) Cozy Blooms, you are agreeing to our terms of sale listed below. Please look these over carefully before purchasing.
OUR GUARANTEE
We guarantee that our tubers will have at least one viable growth point or "eye" and will grow into a lovely dahlia plant if planted and properly cared for. We also guarantee our cuttings will grow into a lovely dahlia plant if planted and properly cared for.
We practice proper sanitation and do our best to mitigate disease and virus, however the American Dahlia Society acknowledges that upwards or 80% of all dahlia stock is infected with some form of virus, we cannot guarantee virus free stock.
We also cannot be held responsible for grower error or variables that are beyond our control.
We ask that upon receipt of your package, you open it up and inspect our products. If there are any issues that escaped our quality inspection, please notify gordon@cozyblooms.com via email within 3 days of receipt and we will provide further instructions.
If for any reason, our tuber does not sprout within 30-days from the date planted in accordance with our Dahlia Planting Best Practices below, we will provide a remedy utilizing our replacement or return policy.
If for any reason our cuttings die within 7-days of receipt and if planted in accordance with our Dahlia Planting Best Practices below, we will provide a remedy utilizing our replacement or return policy.
REPLACEMENT or RETURN POLICY
We reserve the right to replace with a product of the same variety, refund or issue store credit at our discretion.
ORDER LIMITS
Please note that we have put order limits on some of our varieties. If you order more than the noted limit, your entire order may be refunded. Please abide by these limits so we can share the joy of dahlias with more people!
SHIPPING
We are able to ship to the US only. Orders will start shipping in late March and will go out once danger of frost has passed in your zone. If you'd like to request a certain time frame for shipping, please add in your order notes, and we will do our best to accommodate.
Shipping will be charged at a $15 flat rate, shipped via USPS.
We do offer Farm Pick up in Orangevale, CA only.
KA's® Dahlias:
Our farm is an authorized seller of KA's® dahlias. KA® is a trademarked brand, and as licensed sellers, we send a percentage of each sale to Santa Cruz Dahlias. If you purchase a KA® variety, you can grow, propagate, trade, gift, or donate tubers or cuttings. You may also sell blooms as cut flowers and collect or sell the seeds. However, if you would like to sell KA® tubers, you must become a licensed seller. If you have any questions about their trademark policy, we encourage you to reach out to the hybridizer, Kristine, at Santa Cruz Dahlias directly for further details. You can also read more about this on their website here.
DAHLIA PLANTING BEST-PRACTICES
Choosing the Right Tubers
- Select Healthy Tubers: Look for tubers that are firm (but not rock-hard) and have at least one "eye" (growth bud). Tubers with very soft spots are decayed and will not produce a viable Dahlia plant. Tubers without an eye will not sprout.
- Size Matters: Tubers should be at least the size of a AA battery or a pinky finger. Smaller tubers can sometimes lead to weaker plants.
Timing for Planting
- Ideal Planting Time: Plant tubers after the last frost when soil temperatures reach about 60°F. This is typically late April to early May in many regions.
- Order Early: Popular varieties can sell out quickly, so order tubers in late fall or early winter.
Planting Technique
- Depth and Spacing: Plant tubers 2–4 inches deep with the eye facing up. Space them 12–18 inches apart to allow for growth.
- Soil Preparation: Choose a sunny, well-draining location. Avoid soil that contains wood chips. Raised beds can help prevent rot by improving drainage.
- Location: Remember that photosynthesis in dahlia's stops when temperatures exceed 90F (32C). It is important to have some form of shade cloth over your dahlias when temperatures exceed this level.
Watering and Care
- Irrigation: Irrigation greatly depends on the planting location, your climate and soil conditions. In warmer climates, irrigation is suggested up to 3x per day. In cooler climates, irrigation may not be required.
- Initial Watering: Water lightly after planting to keep the soil slightly damp. Don't let the newly formed roots of a cutting become completely dry, or you will lose the plant. When planting tubers, avoid overwatering to prevent tuber rot.
- Support: Stake taller varieties to prevent them from falling over as they grow.
- Hot weather: Photosynthesis stops in dahlia's at about 90 degrees (F). If your plants are wilting at the end of a hot day, You might consider top-watering with a light spray after the temperature cools or the sun goes down.
Maintenance*
- Pinching: To encourage more blooms, pinch back the main stem when the plant reaches 12–16 inches tall.
- Deadheading: Regularly remove spent flowers to promote further blooming.
- Pest Control: We use a mixture of Peppermint Oil, Neem Oil and Dawn Dish Soap weekly during the Spring months and every two-weeks during bloom season at the following ratios: Add1-2 teaspoons of Dawn into 1-gallon of water and mix. Add 1–2 tablespoons of neem oil and 15–20 drops of peppermint oil. Shake thoroughly until the oils are well dispersed. Test on one plant and wait 24-hours to look for any signs of leaf wilt or burning. Apply the spray early in the AM or early evening to avoid direct sunlight. Thoroughly coat the tops and underside of leaves.
- Fertilization: We apply Fox Farms Grow Big weekly during the Spring months and then switch to Fox Farms Big Bloom every other week during the bloom season.
- Tools: There are several tools and items that we use to maintain our dahlia's. We like to carry a small caddy and (2) 450ml silicon measuring cups for sanitizing our snips. The cups fit in the caddy nicely. We carry Dawn Dish Soap, 3% Hydrogen Peroxide, Work Gloves and Snips. Because of how long it takes to sanitize snips, you will want multiple pairs.
- Sanitizing: Snips need to be sanitized when used on EACH NEW PLANT or tuber! We dip and swish them in diluted Dawn Dish Soap, then place them in straight 3% Hydrogen Peroxide for at least 5–10 minutes. Make sure your tools are rinsed with water and hand dried when finished. With this cleaning regimen, your snips will oxidize and rust over time, so avoid spending lots of money on nicer snips.
By following these best practices, you can successfully grow vibrant dahlias in your garden.