Dahlia flower production is documented through several different measures: bunches sold, sales value, reporting operations, market channel, marketable stems per acre, and cultivar performance. The latest national figures here are from 2022. They show 2,078 thousand dahlia bunches sold by 1,223 U.S. operations, with sales valued at $13,963 thousand. Field and cultivar benchmarks add production context, but they measure different things and should not be treated as interchangeable.
Contents
- National production and sales
- Leading states in 2022
- Additional state figures
- Wholesale and retail channels
- 2019 benchmarks
- Field-yield benchmarks
- Cultivar trial benchmark
National production and sales
The 2022 Census of Agriculture, Table 12, reports dahlia sales in thousand bunches and $1,000 of sales value. In 2022, U.S. operations sold 2,078 thousand dahlia bunches. The reported value was $13,963 thousand, and 1,223 operations reported dahlia bunch sales.
These are census observations for the 2022 measurement period. The bunch figure is a sales-unit measure, not a count of individual flowers or stems. Likewise, the value is reported in thousands of dollars, so $13,963 thousand means $13.963 million in the table’s unit convention. The source does not make these figures a forecast of a later year.
The number of reporting operations is useful alongside volume. It indicates that the national total came from 1,223 operations with reported dahlia bunch sales, while the bunch total describes the product volume recorded by those operations. Because the unit is bunches, the figures do not establish how many stems were included in each bunch.
Leading states in 2022
California was the largest state-level volume listed in the supplied 2022 state observations. California reported 843 thousand dahlia bunches sold, valued at $3,899 thousand, with 74 operations reporting sales. Washington reported 137 thousand bunches, $1,076 thousand in sales value, and 87 reporting operations.
The state comparison below keeps the census units explicit.
| State | Bunches sold (thousand) | Sales value ($1,000) | Reporting operations |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 843 | 3,899 | 74 |
| Washington | 137 | 1,076 | 87 |
| Wisconsin | 27 | 243 | 76 |
| Colorado | 42 | 417 | 23 |
Wisconsin reported 27 thousand dahlia bunches sold in 2022. Its dahlia bunch sales were valued at $243 thousand, and 76 operations reported sales. Colorado reported 42 thousand bunches, $417 thousand in sales value, and 23 reporting operations.
The state figures illustrate why volume and operation counts answer different questions. California’s reported volume was 843 thousand bunches across 74 reporting operations. Wisconsin’s reported volume was 27 thousand bunches across 76 operations. The two states therefore have different profiles in the census observations: one has the larger recorded bunch total, while the other has a similar count of reporting operations attached to a smaller recorded total. No additional productivity calculation is implied by these observations.
Washington’s 137 thousand bunches and 87 reporting operations also show that a state-level operation count should be read beside, rather than as a substitute for, the bunch total. The census rows report sales observations; they do not describe every farm’s planting area, cultivar mix, or individual stem count.
Additional state figures
The 2022 census observations include several more states with quantified dahlia bunch sales. Massachusetts reported 44 thousand bunches sold, valued at $527 thousand, with 48 operations reporting sales. Kentucky reported 42 thousand bunches, valued at $228 thousand, with 19 reporting operations.
Maine reported 14 thousand dahlia bunches sold in 2022. Its sales value was $166 thousand, and 27 operations reported dahlia bunch sales. Maryland reported 24 thousand bunches, $198 thousand in sales value, and 34 reporting operations.
Indiana reported 16 thousand bunches sold, valued at $91 thousand, with 37 reporting operations. Illinois also reported 16 thousand bunches sold. Illinois dahlia bunch sales were valued at $162 thousand, and 21 operations reported sales.
| State | Bunches sold (thousand) | Sales value ($1,000) | Reporting operations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | 44 | 527 | 48 |
| Kentucky | 42 | 228 | 19 |
| Maryland | 24 | 198 | 34 |
| Maine | 14 | 166 | 27 |
| Indiana | 16 | 91 | 37 |
| Illinois | 16 | 162 | 21 |
The measurements are for 2022 and use the same census conventions as the national and leading-state figures. The sales values are not retail price lists, and the bunch counts are not field-yield measurements. They are state-level dahlia bunch sales observations reported through the census table.
Wholesale and retail channels
California’s 2022 channel figures provide a more detailed view of how reported dahlia bunch sales were distributed. The 2022 Census of Agriculture, Table 12 reports 52 California wholesale dahlia-selling operations. Those wholesale sellers reported 760 thousand dahlia bunches sold, with sales valued at $3,294 thousand.
The same California observations include 51 retail dahlia-selling operations. Retail sellers reported 82 thousand dahlia bunches sold, valued at $605 thousand. These wholesale and retail rows identify reported channel observations for California in 2022; they are not a national channel split.
| California channel | Operations | Bunches sold (thousand) | Sales value ($1,000) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wholesale | 52 | 760 | 3,294 |
| Retail | 51 | 82 | 605 |
The channel measurements are useful for distinguishing two commercial routes. Wholesale sales were reported by 52 operations, while retail sales were reported by 51 operations. The recorded wholesale bunch volume was 760 thousand, compared with 82 thousand through the reported retail channel. The source presents these as channel-specific observations, so they should not be expanded into claims about other states or about flowers sold outside the census categories.
2019 benchmarks
The 2019 Census of Horticultural Specialties, Table 13, provides an earlier national benchmark. In 2019, U.S. operations sold 2,476 thousand dahlia bunches. Sales were valued at $8,991 thousand, and 546 operations reported dahlia bunch sales.
For Washington specifically, the 2019 state data in Table 12 reports 8 thousand dahlia bunches sold, valued at $6 thousand, with 26 operations reporting sales.
| Benchmark | 2019 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. bunches sold (thousand) | 2,476 | 2,078 |
| U.S. sales value ($1,000) | 8,991 | 13,963 |
| U.S. reporting operations | 546 | 1,223 |
| Washington bunches sold (thousand) | 8 | 137 |
| Washington sales value ($1,000) | 6 | 1,076 |
| Washington reporting operations | 26 | 87 |
The table places the two census periods side by side, but it does not explain why the reported values differ. The 2019 and 2022 rows come from separate census publications and measurement periods. They should be read as historical benchmarks, not as a controlled time-series study. In particular, the figures do not provide enough information to attribute changes to acreage, prices, cultivars, weather, market demand, or reporting practices.
Field-yield benchmarks
The Utah State University Extension field-trial benchmarks measure marketable dahlia stems per acre in Cache Valley. The figures are multi-year field benchmarks published in 2021, not national production estimates or forecasts.
| Cache Valley benchmark | Marketable stems per acre |
|---|---|
| Minus 50% | 4,000 |
| Minus 25% | 6,000 |
| Minus 10% | 7,200 |
| Average | 8,000 |
| Plus 10% | 8,900 |
| Plus 20% | 9,700 |
The average benchmark was 8,000 marketable dahlia stems per acre. The lower benchmarks were 4,000 stems per acre at minus 50%, 6,000 at minus 25%, and 7,200 at minus 10%. The higher benchmarks were 8,900 stems per acre at plus 10% and 9,700 at plus 20%.
These values use stems per acre, while the USDA census uses bunches sold. A grower or floral designer can use the measures for different planning conversations, but one cannot convert between them from the supplied data because bunch composition and marketable-stem packaging are not specified. The Cache Valley location and multi-year field-trial basis also limit how broadly the benchmarks should be applied.
Cultivar trial benchmark
The 2018 ASCFG Dahlia trial, published through N.C. State Extension, reports averages for participating respondents who harvested stems. Beaucon White averaged 5.0 stems per plant, 20.6 inches of stem length, and 7.4 days of postharvest life in that 2018 trial.
Those three figures describe cultivar-trial performance under the trial’s respondent group. They are not representative of all commercial dahlia farms and should not be read as a national production standard. They also measure plant output, stem length, and postharvest life rather than the USDA’s bunch sales, sales value, or operation count.
For production planning, the distinction between these datasets matters. The USDA figures describe reported sales in a defined census year. The Utah figures provide multi-year field benchmarks for marketable stems per acre in Cache Valley. The ASCFG figure describes a 2018 cultivar trial average among respondents who harvested stems. Together, they offer separate reference points for market scale, local field yield, and one cultivar’s trial performance, while preserving the measurement periods and geographies of each source.