Edmonton Horticultural Society is excited to announce collaboration with Sawtooth Farm to bring access to premium dahlia tubers.

We interviewed Owner/ Farmer Shelly Wenger to share the story behind Sawtooth Farm and give you an exciting glimpse into the world of dahlia farming. Enjoy!

NOTE: Tubers are available for purchase through their site, www.sawtoothfarm.com, with free pickup to attendees of the April Speaker Series 2026 on the 27th with the code EHSPICKUP. The speaker, Glad Man, will also have gladiolus corms for sale and the Lily Society will have bulbs.

Members check you emails for a discount code for the purchase or if you bought a new membership and need the code please reach out to us at officeadmin@edmontonhort.com.

Some of the beautiful Varieties of Dahlia Shelly Grows, Peaches and Cream (far left), Cafe au Lait (far right)

Can you paint the big picture of your farm, what does it look like? Sound like? Feel like?

Currently I plant my dahlias at my parents’ farm west of Edmonton. I have the dahlia plants split between two gardens: one in the main yard near the farm house and another huge plot back behind the machine sheds. This back garden is basically in the field where the dahlias grow alongside the potatoes, pumpkins, and raspberries. The main garden is reserved for the “specials” (new to me varieties, any cuttings I took, etc) and some of my parents’ favorites! I plant both gardens in big long rows, organizing the dahlias by type and even by color, with each row staked out and labelled.

What does your year look like as a dahlia farmer?

Winter: It’s very quiet and I’m missing my flowers! I’ll update my website and inventory lists and do a lot of knitting waiting for spring to come!

Spring: Very busy! I’ll start pre-selling dahlia tubers online sometime late January, then start selling locally usually in April. All the online presales will be shipped once we pass our last frost date, and then I usually start planting my fields around Mother’s Day!

Early summer: is also quite busy! I weed the young dahlias until they get established (the chickweed is really bad), and then am busy with pinching.

Summer: Everything calms down between July and August for me. The dahlias are busy growing and some early bloomers are starting up (like Salmon Runner)!)

Early Fall: I am very busy harvesting blooms and taking photos/videos to continue cataloging my inventory. A big task is making sure all the plants are correctly labelled and identified. (There is nothing worse than lifting and dividing an unmarked mystery plant lol!)

Late Fall: I usually get hit with frost in the beginning of October. The back garden is not protected and sheltered like the main garden and those dahlias will go black first. After a good killing frost I’ll wait a few days (and make some freezer meals for my family!) and then start lifting and dividing tubers. The tubers will be labelled and stored away for next spring!

Are there any big trends with dahlias right now?

From what I can see the big trends with dahlias are:

– So-called “unicorn” varieties that are new to the market or are just hard to find (like the KA varieties and Floret’s ‘Apple Blossom’). I have a few “unicorn” varieties in the field (such as Peaches N’ Cream and Café au Lait).

– The white and blush colored blooms trend is still going strong! Everyone has their opinion regarding color but I see a lot of cream/blush/white dahlias available – not too many primary yellow ones!

– I think if a variety is known for being a prolific bloomer or tuber producer and has amazing color and stem length it will always be popular! Varieties such as Cornell Bronze, Sylvia (Maarn), and Snoho Dorris come to mind.

What are you best tips for growing dahlias?

I could go on and on! My number one tip is to purchase tuber(s) from a local grower if you can (you know the tuber was grown here and will flourish) and just stick it in the ground and grow it. Give it a try!

[Editor Note: Locally grown tubers from a reputable grower are always in top shape, unlike some of the stock making it to the store shelves these days]

Any big dreams for your dahlia farming?

My big dream is to eventually live on our acreage with my dahlias and gardens outside my window! We currently have bare land and plan to build one day. Currently the farm where I grow 99% of my flowers is a 45 min drive away – so it’s still super accessible and we get to visit my parents a lot which is nice!

I’d love to sell flowers at market and I plan to continue providing blooms to local florists this next season. Knowing my blooms are part of an important day of someone’s life (whether that be a funeral/celebration of life, wedding, or thinking-of-you bouquet) is so very heart-jumping for me.

Shelly Wenger grew up on a farm west of Edmonton surrounded by large veggie and flower gardens, and was always in the garden picking bouquets even as a young girl.
Shelly discovered dahlias online on Instagram in 2018 and purchased a few tuber clumps from the local box store – and was hooked. After very quickly outgrowing her suburban flower beds, she started planting the ‘extra’ dahlia tubers at her parents’ farm. She currently plants over 1000+ dahlia tubers and an assortment of seasonal cut flowers there.
It is Shelly’s passion and goal with her business Sawtooth Farm to celebrate, cultivate, and share the beauty of dahlias and specialty cut flowers. She is eager to share her knowledge and dahlia tubers from her garden with other gardeners and flower enthusiasts. It is amazing what can be grown in a Zone 3 climate!