Dahlia Tuber Sale Policies + Terms

Below you’ll find everything you need to know when purchasing dahlia tubers from Petal Back Farm.

We hate rules, but we’ve learned that dahlia tubers can bring out the crazy in all of us 😅, so let’s get the boring part out of the way so we can all get back to growing flowers.

By purchasing dahlia tubers from Petal Back Farm LLC, you agree to the following policies and terms.

Ordering

Our dahlia tuber sales are online only.

Having an item in your cart does not reserve it. Inventory is secured only once you successfully complete checkout, submit payment, and receive an order number and confirmation email.

Dahlia Mania, especially for rare varieties, is a real thing. We completely understand the frustration of trying to check out while items go out of stock, but unfortunately, this functionality is part of ecommerce and is not something we can control.

Once an order is placed, we are unable to add or remove items or combine shipping. Due to the manual nature of combining orders, making changes creates significant logistical challenges. For this reason, we keep our shipping prices as low as possible. If you would like to purchase additional items, you will need to submit a separate order, which will ship separately.

Returns, Refunds + Exchanges

All sales are considered final. However, if there is an issue with your order, a return, exchange, refund, or replacement may be authorized at the sole discretion of Petal Back Farm LLC and in accordance with the guarantees outlined below.

Please review our general Returns, Exchanges + Refunds Policy for additional information:

https://shop.petalbackfarm.com/pages/returns

Quantity Limits

We may set purchase limits on certain highly sought-after or limited-quantity varieties so that more growers have a chance to grow them.

Any applicable quantity limit will be clearly stated on the product listing.

Please respect these limits when placing your order. Petal Back Farm LLC reserves the right to cancel or refund orders, in whole or in part, that exceed stated purchase limits.

Our Promise + Growing Practices

Above all else, we want you to be happy with your order. Plant and tuber health is a top priority on our farm.

We believe in working with nature, not against it. While we are not certified organic, we grow our dahlias using organic practices with plant and pollinator health in mind and introduce beneficial insects for pest management as part of our integrated approach.

In addition to our growing practices, we may occasionally test for viruses including cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV), impatiens necrotic spot virus (INSV), and tobacco mosaic virus (TMV).

Testing can be a helpful tool, but testing every plant is neither practical nor conclusive. Our primary approach is ongoing visual monitoring throughout the growing season and culling plants when appropriate.

We follow American Dahlia Society recommendations for sanitation during harvesting and dividing, including sanitizing tools between divides. Our tubers are triple labeled throughout the process, from planting and growing through storage, dividing, and shipping.

We are not a U-Pick farm, and only individuals trained in our sanitation practices are permitted to harvest from our fields.

Our tubers are also inspected as required by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture.

Tuber Expectations + Our Guarantee

Dahlia tubers come in all shapes and sizes. Some are cute, some are downright ugly. What matters is not how they look, but that they are viable.

We guarantee that tubers sold by Petal Back Farm will:

• Be at least approximately the size of a AAA battery

• Have an intact neck

• Contain at least one viable eye

Tubers are living plant material, not uniform manufactured products. Some varieties naturally produce smaller or thinner tubers, some store slightly wrinkled, some have skinny necks, and some have dormant eyes that can be difficult to see.

Minor cosmetic imperfections that do not affect the viability or vigor of the tuber do not qualify for a refund or replacement.

We are very selective during dividing and reserve our best tubers for sale. In fact, the less desirable-looking tubers are often the ones we grow ourselves! We would never intentionally send a tuber that we would not plant on our own farm.

Inspecting Your Tubers

Please inspect your tubers immediately upon delivery.

If you believe a tuber does not meet our viability guarantee or there is another issue with your order, email support@petalbackfarm.com within five (5) days of delivery and before planting or potting up.

Please include:

• Your order number

• A description of the issue

• Clear photos of the affected tuber(s)

Please contact us before planting OR disposing of any tuber related to a claim, as we may need additional photos or information to evaluate the issue.

After five (5) days from delivery, the buyer assumes responsibility for the storage and care of the tubers.

Please contact us by email rather than social media regarding order concerns. Due to message volume and filtering, social media messages can easily be missed.

Storage Loss Before Shipping

Dahlia tubers are sold in advance of spring shipping and must remain in storage during the winter.

While rare, storage loss can occur between the time a tuber is sold and the time it is scheduled to ship.

If a tuber becomes unavailable due to storage loss before we fulfill your order, we will refund the purchase price of the affected item.

True-to-Variety Guarantee

We take extensive precautions to keep our dahlia varieties correctly identified throughout the growing, harvesting, dividing, storing, and shipping process. However, when working with thousands of living plants and tubers, an occasional mistake can happen.

Some variety errors cannot reasonably be identified until the plant blooms.

If you believe a dahlia purchased from Petal Back Farm is not true to variety, please contact support@petalbackfarm.com by the third week of September of the year in which the tuber was shipped.

Please include:

• Your order number

• The variety you ordered

• Clear photos of the plant and bloom

We will review the information and, at the sole discretion of Petal Back Farm LLC, may provide a replacement, refund the affected item, or offer another appropriate resolution.

Shipping charges are non-refundable unless otherwise determined by Petal Back Farm LLC.

Growing + Post-Delivery Care

Once tubers have been received and the five-day inspection period has passed, proper storage, planting, cultivation, and care are the responsibility of the buyer.

Petal Back Farm LLC is not responsible for losses resulting from circumstances including, but not limited to:

• Improper storage after delivery

• Improper planting or growing practices

• Weather or environmental conditions

• Rot occurring after planting

• Pest or animal damage

• Neglect

• Disease or infection occurring after delivery

• Propagation techniques or other advanced growing methods

• Other post-delivery circumstances outside our control

If you choose to pot up tubers for cuttings, divide them further, or use other propagation or advanced growing techniques, you do so at your own risk. These methods carry inherent challenges and potential for loss even when starting with a viable tuber.

Dahlia Disease + Virus

Dahlias are living plants, and growing them carries inherent risks related to pests, disease, viruses, bacteria, fungi, environmental stress, and other conditions.

We take plant health seriously and use practices intended to reduce disease pressure, including monitoring plants throughout the growing season, culling when appropriate, sanitizing tools, using biological pest-management methods, and occasional virus testing.

However, no grower can guarantee that living plant material is completely free of all pathogens or disease.

Viruses can occur in dahlias without visible symptoms, symptoms can be difficult to distinguish from nutrient deficiencies or other plant stress, and symptoms may not develop until later. Additionally, test results represent only the plant material tested at a particular point in time. A plant that appears healthy or has previously tested negative cannot be guaranteed to remain free of disease indefinitely.

According to research published by the American Dahlia Society, viruses are commonly detected even in healthy, asymptomatic dahlia plants. An estimated 87 percent of healthy, asymptomatic plants tested carried at least one virus. In one study, 38 percent of clean stock propagated from plants that tested negative in 2016 tested positive in 2017.

By purchasing and growing dahlia tubers, you acknowledge the inherent biological risks associated with cultivating living plant material.

Shipping

Dahlia tubers are seasonal products and generally begin shipping in spring (typically April), weather permitting.

Because freezing temperatures can damage tubers, shipping may be delayed when necessary based on temperatures at our farm, along the shipping route, or at the destination.

Please review our Shipping Information page for current shipping timelines and important information regarding combined orders, tracking, and fulfillment:

https://shop.petalbackfarm.com/pages/shipping-info

The individual product listing is always the best source for the most current estimated shipping information.

Preparing for a Dahlia Tuber Sale

You may preview available varieties on our website prior to the sale. All varieties will be marked as out of stock until the sale officially begins.

Availability and pricing shown during a preview period are subject to change while final inventory is being completed and are not guaranteed until the sale goes live.

We may temporarily make the collection or individual products unavailable immediately before a launch while we prepare the store and finalize inventory.

Local Pickup

We do not currently offer farm pickup for online orders.

If this changes in the future, available pickup options will be communicated on our website or during checkout.

Sales Tax

Applicable sales tax will be collected as required by law and calculated during checkout.

Limitation of Liability

Dahlia tubers are living plant material, and there are inherent risks associated with their storage, handling, planting, propagation, and cultivation.

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Petal Back Farm LLC’s maximum liability arising from the purchase of dahlia tubers will not exceed the purchase price of the affected item(s).

Petal Back Farm LLC is not responsible for indirect, incidental, consequential, or special damages arising from the purchase, shipping, handling, storage, planting, propagation, cultivation, performance, testing, culling, or loss of tubers or plants.

All decisions made by the purchaser after receiving the tubers, including storage methods, testing, pest-management practices, culling decisions, propagation techniques, and other growing practices, are the responsibility of the purchaser.

Refunds, replacements, exchanges, or other resolutions are subject to these policies and are determined at the sole discretion of Petal Back Farm LLC where permitted by law.

Questions or Problems With an Order

If you have a question or concern about your order, please contact:

Petal Back Farm LLC
support@petalbackfarm.com

Please include your order number whenever possible so we can locate your purchase quickly.

Finally

That was a lot, but we want to make sure we cover all the bases. Hopefully, we can all get back to growing flowers now.

At the end of the day, we’re just a couple of dreamers who love growing things. As dahlia enthusiasts, we may enjoy the madness, but more than anything, we want you to have the best experience possible. Please know that we are doing our very best to make that happen.

From one dahlia lover to another, cheers!

And may the odds forever be in your favor 🙂

Maggie, Matt, Reese, Poppy, & The Dahlias