FAQ

We’re committed to protecting the quality, uniqueness, and hard work involved in developing our dahlia varieties. By securing these protections, we aim to ensure that large-scale commercial operations don’t reproduce our varieties in ways that could compromise quality, introduce pathogens, or undermine our reputation. This allows us to continue investing in and sharing our passion for dahlias, knowing that our work is safeguarded.

We deeply appreciate the contributions of small farms and hobbyist growers and don’t intend to seek royalties or impose restrictions on them. Our primary focus is on preventing unauthorized large-scale production by commercial operations, which may not adhere to our quality standards. We’re happy to continue sharing our varieties with gardeners who love dahlias as much as we do.

We respect the long-standing tradition of sharing plants within the gardening community. However, breeding a new dahlia variety involves a significant investment of time, resources, and expertise. These protections don’t change our desire to share our plants but help ensure we can maintain the quality of our varieties and protect our investment from large-scale commercialization that could diminish our work.

Trademarking protects the names we give our varieties, but it doesn’t prevent others from reproducing the plants themselves. Plant Variety Protection (PVP) and patents offer additional legal rights that help us control the propagation of the plants themselves. This is particularly important when large commercial growers might try to mass-produce our varieties without maintaining quality standards, which could ultimately harm our reputation and compromise the plants’ quality.

Our goal is to keep our dahlias accessible to those who share our passion for gardening. The protections help us manage quality control and prevent unauthorized large-scale production, which, in turn, helps us maintain the integrity and value of our varieties. We’re committed to balancing our need to protect our work with keeping our plants available to individuals and small growers.

We encourage the sharing and enjoyment of dahlias among gardening enthusiasts. The protections we pursue are primarily aimed at large-scale commercial growers. We welcome gardeners to enjoy, grow, and even share our dahlias as long as it’s done on a small scale and not for mass reproduction. Our goal is not to limit the enjoyment of gardening but to protect our varieties from practices that could harm their quality and reputation.

For large growers interested in propagating our dahlias, we can establish licensing agreements that set clear quality standards. This way, they can reproduce our varieties in a way that aligns with our commitment to quality and protects both the plant and our brand. These agreements help us ensure that any commercial reproduction is done responsibly and with respect for the integrity of the plants.

We understand that this can be a sensitive topic. While we support the communal spirit of gardening, breeding unique varieties requires a substantial investment of time, resources, and expertise. These protections allow us to balance the openness of gardening with the practical need to safeguard our work, especially from large-scale operations that might compromise quality for quantity.

By securing PVP, patents, and trademarks, we can maintain high standards and introduce distinctive, high-quality varieties to the gardening community. These protections allow us to invest in the development of new dahlias without the risk of large-scale commercial operations undercutting our work, which ultimately benefits gardeners by preserving the uniqueness and quality of our varieties.

Absolutely! Gardeners are welcome to enjoy our dahlias and save seeds or tubers for personal enjoyment and small-scale propagation. Our main concern is with larger commercial enterprises that may mass-produce the plants for profit. We encourage the enjoyment of our dahlias within the gardening community and hope to foster an appreciation for the time and effort involved in breeding unique varieties.