2024 Orders and Openings Chat

Juliarugula · 2023-08-01T22:12:46+00:00

I thought today might be a good day to start the 2024 thread, since I was browsing through the newly rolled over DahliaAddict site. Has anybody heard if Cle...

blown_dry

Honnat You got Encompass! Well we all like something different.

Yes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 🙂 This is a case of extreme optimism. If the blooms all look like the photo I probably won't keep growing it, but I'm hoping that when it's fully open it will be some sort of cool anemone-ish thing. The image gave me just enough to pin my dreams on. This is what the dahlia wars do also, there is not a lot of time for rational thinking. 😂
I do have a numer of favorites in the NX category like HH Shaggy Dog, Hy Zizzle, Tall Sunburst and of course I grow Junkyard Dog.

blown_dry

@KitCMC Big messy dahlias for the win!!!!

Honnat

Anyone want some entertaining reading material, check out "Herons Nest" Each of their listings is a multi-paragraph poetic essay describing the flowers. And they have hundreds of varieties!
https://heronsnestdahlias.com

blown_dry

Honnat I saw that! That's a lot of work. I almost hope they brought in an AI to help.

Some of them have a paean: In the splendid atelier of the earth, nature's deft hands have sculpted a masterpiece that whispers of la dolce vita. The A La Mode Dahlia, with its symphony of bi-color petals, is the embodiment of life's creamy richness topped with the unexpected zest of citrus.

Others only the practical: We prioritize the health of our tubers & cuttings during shipping. Our careful handling minimizes any risks like exposure to cold that may occur during shipping. Because of this, you can expect your shipment in April or May...

Teddahlia

I think they used AI to write the descriptions and just gave the computer some key words and told it write florid text.

Honnat

Teddahlia What a weird world we live in.

Cosey

I'm on team AI with those descriptions especially since C.Dexter (clearly masculine in name) is identifying as she/her in Idaho.

If I just came across the listings I would think they might be a scam, but the rest of the sight seems legit. Does anyone know anything about them?

blown_dry

Cosey I have been corresponding with them as a new supplier on DahliaAddict. I don't see any red flags, or even yellow flags like thinking that Google image search results are free for anyone to use. The rest of site seems legit. The AI descriptions seem like a fun, gimmicky thing to me, honestly one of the most "honest" uses of AI that I've seen. But! I haven't ordered from them or gotten reviews about them.

DarcyD

Definitely AI. I couldn’t get past the first sentence or two. Honestly glad they look legit because my first thoughts made me nervous to buy from them.

bloomhjelm

I've been following them on social media since last summer. Lots of growing photos. I hope they can keep up with the truly massive # of cuttings listings. I ordered Sandia Susan, Hapet Pearl. They seem very tech-inclined with managing an SMS list also. On a related note I can't wait until my children are grown enough to be my employees. 🙂

As I was looking for that photo of RaeAnn's Mystery yesterday I took a long look at Meadowpoint which still has 2023 messaging. I hope they announce a spring sale.

bloomhjelm

Galena/Micro Flower Farm didn't stock Clearview Cinnabar after all, so didn't pick up anything at that sale.

Honnat

bloomhjelm Galena/Micro Flower Farm didn't stock Clearview Cinnabar after all, so didn't pick up anything at that sale.

My stock of Clearview Cinnabar abruptly all went open centered. I'm guessing it has for others as well. It was lovely while it lasted!

MissyWeitzel

I'm Facebook friends with the owner of Heron's but don't know her well at all. We've just had a few interactions regarding specific dahlia cultivars. I looked at her site for a minute and didn't look closely at any of the listing because I didn't see anything I was interested in at first glance.
I initially wrote (what I thought was) clever descriptions for all of my listings on my website but that was before I had so many cultivars and now it feels like too much work to do more than add the listing, form info and pics for each considering just doing that probably took an entire weekend. Also people bought stuff I forgot to take pictures of so I figure they'll buy stuff I didn't write flowery descriptions for. 😅

Clover

MissyWeitzel

Out of curiosity, I went to their Facebook page and they say their that their descriptions are inspired by the J. Peterman catalog, so I looked that up. If that's what they were going for, I don't think they succeeded. The Peterman catalog had little stories that went along with the clothes they sell. The Heron catalog doesn't read that way to me - more flowery description than story. Not that I'd be signing up to write stories for hundreds of different dahlia varieties either...

What matters most to me is size of the flower and a good picture of it.

Teddahlia

Dahlia people are impressed by good pictures much more than wordy, exaggerated descriptions. Many dahlia people want to see the actual flower and attend shows to see them. Others refuse to buy unless they see it growing in a garden. I used to say that too, but having good dahlia friends with good judgement goes a long ways too. If a person whom I trust recommends something that we would like, that goes a long way. When it comes to ordering from a foreign country like we used to be able to order from Halls of Heddon, it seems that I have less sales resistance and over the years have bought a lot of flowers that UK people like but were not well suited to to our garden. Yes, they may be super good show prospects but most of us want varieties that take less work to produce those show flowers. I must admit that most of the varieties we have gotten from the UK were not retained but a few are really nice. I am still in love with Dikara Superb and have been liking it for about 5 years now.

NCDahlia

Teddahlia I feel the same way. Dikara Superb is just that a Superb dahlia.

None of the Diane's did anything for me. Blyton's only a few I've kept such as Blyton Stella, and I also still have good stock of Josudi Neptune.

MIDahlias

Teddahlia I'm a little odd. If the picture is terrible, I might pass vs. If there's no picture I don't mind. I do love to read Leeann and Wayne's notes. In the past, their notes have caused me to both pass and purchase. I only skim paragraphs when shopping for dahlias, unless it's history related I dont want the frilly description.

WanderingDahlias

JillAnne Have you tried Coseytown Goldilocks? She’s a gorgeous golden yellow.

JillAnne

WanderingDahlias Thank you so much! I was just thinking about that one. So nice to hear a great review. That is going to be my top choice now for a golden one.

blown_dry

The varieties that a lot of people are looking for by name will sell without photos or description. For less famous varieties, I notice listings with no photo sometimes linger long past the time when others in the catalog are sold out. I can be really influenced by photos, even though I know that the reality in my garden can be very different, even if everything goes right. When a supplier is new, cautious buyers seem to be reassured by them (unless they recognize the photos from another catalog). There are suppliers where you have to click on a link to see the photo. In the past I have made and shared pages with all the photos expanded for my own pleasure as much as to be helpful, and it caused me to order things I missed in browsing the text catalog. I didn't have time this year, and I noticed things did not sell out as fast and wonder if it's related. Maybe it was better for them to sell more slowly.
I don't need a ode, but I would at least like bloom size, especially in new intros!

calico20hill

Wandering Dahlias, I grow Coseytown Goldilocks. I did a trade with her breeder several years ago and this one is a keeper! It makes good tubers that hold over well over the winter, as well.

WanderingDahlias

calico20hill I love the names LeeAnn comes up with! I need to check when she’s opening this year.

JillAnne

calico20hill Thank you too! That is so great to hear!

MIDahlias

WanderingDahlias I love your user name.

Cosey

WanderingDahlias

We are introducing 11 new cultivars. Half are garden varieties and 3 are hold overs from 2023 I held back from the sale (storage issues, not the plants fault. Wonder whose fault it can be then? 🤔) And then a few more cut flower varieties. Including what I think is my best cut flower cultivar to date.

We are working on all the listings and will get a date announced very soon.

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