Best selling varieties for farmer's markets

dahlia1972

I'm located in Rhode Island, and starting my fledgling dahlia business this summer, given we don't have a repeat of last year's drought. I don't have sufficient space to grow enough to sell to florists, so I'll be selling bouquets and single stems primarily from my roadside stand and at farmer's markets. I'm in tuber buying frenzy mode and was hoping to get some insight as to which varieties and colors sell best at these venues.

Ailhad

dahlia1972 You also want to consider varieties that grow well where you are and a mix of early bloomers and late bloomers. Have you checked out the websites of the Dahlia Shed (Middletown, RI) or the Little State Flower Company (Tiverton, RI)? They will give you an idea what varieties grow and sell well for them in southern RI. BTW both farms usually sell their extra tubers at their flower stands as they are planting their own fields (@ early May). Also the Farmer's Daughter (S. Kingstown, RI) might sell extras after they finish dividing their clumps but you have to ask.

calico20hill

My experience of selling dahlias at a Farmer's market is that you never know what will sell well and what won't until you try it. But some general observances....waterlily dahlias are popular but tend to droop before the end of a hot day at market. The same with laciniated dahlias and to a certain extent, cactus types. Also, to people who are not involved in the dahlia world, I heard a lot of comments about cactus flowered ones looking prickly and they didn't want them. I sold mixed bouquets and a lot of people are attracted to ones that are fragrant...but there are also a number of people who can't tolerate fragrance. I was always happy to make up a non fragrant one for my allergic customers. It was a fun challenge to make up things that I knew regular customers would like. And the unpopularity of yellow dahlias was a very real thing. I tried. I made beautiful arrangements with yellow dahlias and hardly ever sold one. Some customers really liked the deep dark colors, particularly as fall approached. I had a lot of requests for Cafe Au Lait and it came on very late in the season so it was hard to get them to market. If you can choose where to your stand is placed in the market, beware of strong winds and glaring afternoon sunshine. On dark days in autumn add some battery powered lights to your display.

dahlia1972

Thank you- this is so helpful. I love the cactus varieties but will include a few more balls in my lineup. Strange about yellow- yellow and white mixed bouquets are my favorite!

Teddahlia

Yellow has been in the crapper for a few years now. At first I could not believe it as I really like yellow dahlias (and I still do) and we insisted on saving yellow seedlings expecting big sales that never happened. I am saving a glorious BB ID deep pure yellow cut flower seedling that grows 7 feet tall with stems to die for. It will be a one of the worst sellers the year it is released. Dan Pearson recognized the yellow curse several year ago and he found out that sneaking a yellow one into a mixed bouquet caused the bouquet to sell better. He said the yellow brought out the brightness of the other colors in the bouquet. However, yellow bouquets do not sell. Word of advice: Everybody who seriously sells cut flowers says they do not have enough white flowers. When we first started selling cut flowers, I thought white flowers were ugly and still do not see the appeal of flower with no color being better than one that is brightly coloured. Balls and miniature balls were the last ones to sell 20 years ago and now they are really popular.
Pink is pinker because of the yellow.

MIDahlias

Teddahlia I love yellow. Yellow makes me happy. Love the yellow pink combination.

dahlia1972

I love yellow, and it's versatile because it looks good with ALL colors. I'm growing HH Buttermilk, Creamy, Hart's Bonnie, Little Scottie, and Seattle. I'll have to stock up on white ones. I only have Bride to Be thus far.

Juliarugula

Anecdotally…. I have a friend who I often share my flowers with who tends to have very Pinterest-y, Instagram-y taste in decor/colors/flowers etc. I was surprised when she was flipping through my dahlia photos, she picked HH Lemon Ice as her favorite of all of them. I love Lemon Ice, but I really wasn’t expecting her to pick a yellow bloom.

I think sometimes yellows can have a tendency to look flat. It’s hard to see the depth of petals due to the brightness of the color and they end up looking like a yellow blob. I think this is why I tend to prefer yellows that have a slight blush or tint of orange or bicolors - the slight change in color helps to define the edges of the form.

But maybe it’s partly that my vision isn’t what it used to be.

SteveM

Centuries ago, when I first started selling dahlias as cut flowers, "Michael J"(Small FD, Yellow with red variegation) was one of my personal favorite dahlias. I noticed it was always the last bunch of dahlias to sell at my broker. When I asked my broker to ask the florists why they didn't buy them, more than one florists said "they look too much like marigolds". I thought that was strange but maybe there was something to it. I was able to sell Cameo and Fern Irene (both WL) so maybe it was the combination of the form and the color that was cursed? I have never been able to sell a Ball or FD yellow dahlia.

MissyWeitzel

My response to your question is everyone says bright colors sell best at market and ball/FD/poms hold up best in market bouquets. How you wrap your bouquet can set you apart too. Some find success with Kraft brown or black or white wraps. Pepper Harrow does jars with Kraft paper wrapped around and a white/black striped ribbon as their signature. I'm a marketing geek so I think in those terms. What colors are your logo? Can you add a little touch with the wraps or a ribbon that speaks to your brand and you can consistently make so after a bit people will not only recognize your gorgeous dahlias but also know exactly where they came from at a glance? You are just starting out so the world is your oyster. Go big. Spend a bit more on packaging materials that will set you apart from the beginning and grow some lovely blooms that you harvest at the appropriate time and charge what you need from the start. Set yourself up for success and people will buy every dang color you have. Except maybe yellow. 🤣

SteveM

MissyWeitzel charge what you need from the start.

That is very good advice. Not many farmers are also good at setting prices and have a tendency to under-price their flowers.

AndreaB

MissyWeitzel Surprisingly, in the trades I’ve made this year, yellow has been quite popular. Seems to be gaining a little momentum in my world.

calico20hill

We were stepping into the business just before Floret became the Instagram leader. We had to figure out things for ourselves. ("We" being my good friend and I). So we were kind of developing the way we did things in tandem with Floret but not as followers. After much research, we decided on "Compostable" plastic cups to hold our bouquets. They were really only compostable in a commercial dump site, but we also would take them back and reuse them if they had been run through a dishwasher.I made a mix of water, bleach and white vinegar for them and packed it in empty plastic jugs with a pump top on them so it was easy to fill the plastic cups at market. I would take enough made up bouquets to fill my stand and then keep making new ones as the others sold. That allowed me to keep busy, make custom bouquets, and chat with friends and neighbors as I did so. It was a lot of fun as a way to be part of our small community. It was a lot of work but I loved nearly every minutes of it. I only stopped when we moved and I still miss it. There were never two bouquets the same. I picked foliages from our bit of woodland or my gardens with a lot of shrubs.I used a lot of native plants in my bouquets as well, If I were to start over again I don't think I would change much at all of what we were doing. Well, yes, I would raise the price but still keep it at a range where both the customer and I were comfortable with it. And I would still give fun flowers to the children to play with. It is a lot of work but it is also a great way to be part of your community.

MissyWeitzel

calico20hill I would love to see a picture of your booth setup and your flowers if you run across one someday! Personally, the thought of working super hard and late into the night, then getting up early to spend all day in the elements with no guarantee of selling anything turns me off. You make it sound really fulfilling and fun though!
Part of my decision not to sell in markets stems from experiences I had doing it with my previous business. I sold gift boxes with all local products. Before I realized corporate gift giving was the ideal market for my product, I tried selling them at vendor shows and farmers markets. 75% of the time people just asked to buy individual products out of the gift boxes and not the whole thing. So I pivoted and tried the 'build your own gift box' route and then people just bought snacks for themselves to eat while they walked around looking at the other vendor booths. 🤦‍♀️

Juliarugula

I don’t sell at market, but during peak season, I’ll set a cart out in front of my house once a week with about eight-ten mason jar bouquets. Mostly they’re bought by neighbors.

My observation is that whatever bouquet I love the most is the one that’s left at the end of the day. 🤣🤣🤣. So there you go! (It kind of works out well for me because then I get to keep it!)

If I had to pin down similarities, I think the leftover bouquets tend to be ones with cactus forms and maybe darker colors.

Cosey

Orange and yellow don't seem to sell until Sept when it's suddenly fall. Everyone wants their cardigans, leather Chelsea boots and pumpkin spice lattes. Then, and only then, do they agree to purchase "fall themed" colors. Lol.

That being said, pairing yellow with white and light pink can be popular and pairing lavender with orange is eye catching.

The great thing about farmers markets or road side stands is you get to be as creative as you want to be! Come back this summer and let us know which bunches sold well!

Cosey

Images of the first bouquets to sell from a road side stand this summer. The little boy might have influenced a sale or two. 😉

calico20hill

Hereis a photo of my booth the Farmer's Market in 2019, the last season I was on the Island. We were lucky enough to be allotted space in the shed due to how long we had been selling,,,made it much easier then having to set up a canopy. My husband made the fantastic 3 tiers stand out of a couple of corner shelve displays sold as cheap garden accessories. He then made the plywood cup holders for the recyclebable plastic cups with lids that I used for my bouquets. These cups made it easy for customers to carry their flowers then set them in the drinks holder in their cars to get them home safely. I sat behind the display making new bouquets as fast as they sold, and my son and who ev er was assisting took care of financial transactions. So I am back beh8ind this with buckets and buckets of flowers and greenery, cups, lids and jugs of treated water working as fast as I can to keep the stand filled!

KitCMC

calico20hill just gorgeous, and the easy to transport home container is a great idea!

SteveM

calico20hill Noni, I bet you never worked so hard or had so much fun!🙂

calico20hill

You are absolutely right, Steve. And I miss it so much! It felt like something I was born to do. But the Sundays after Saturday market....pretty much vegged out in a quiet house, waiting for the plants to put out more blooms . But I liked doing the hard work then having a few days off. I did have a few commercial customers where I delivered early in the week for their offices. I enjoyed knowing my customers and what they liked, then designing directly for them.