美国 天鹅岛大丽花 Swan Island Dahlias – 美国最大最具影响力的大丽花种植商之一

苗圃简史

天鹅岛大丽花苗圃 Swan Island Dahlias 由 Gitts 家族经营，已经营了三代人，2026 年标志其商业化生产进入第一百年。苗圃自称为「美国最大、最具影响力的大丽花种植商」。

苗圃起源于美国俄勒冈州波特兰的 Swan Island（天鹅岛），最初在 Sellwood 区还有一个路边摊位，因而早年间同时被叫做 Swan Island Dahlias 和 Portland Dahlia Gardens 两个名字。

1940 年代，苗圃先迁到俄勒冈州 Canby 市（坎比）的租用地；1953 年前后买下二十英亩农田，把生产基地定格在威拉米特河谷 Willamette Valley，现址一直延续至今。最初只有几英亩大丽花，如今种植面积已接近 40 英亩。

1963 年，Nick 与 Margaret Gitts 夫妇从华盛顿州 Laurel 的奶农场上接手，把家族原有的 Laurel Valley Dahlia 与新业务合并，开始同时做零售邮购与批发两套体系。

家族传承与人事变化

1975 年，Nicholas 与 Ted Gitts 加入父母成为合伙人，1991 年父母退休，兄弟俩共同经营这片大丽花农场。

2007 年 10 月，Nick Sr 因癌症去世；2013 年夏，Ted 在一次事故中离世，再加上更早一起车祸中失去的 Debbie，让 Gitts 家族在十年间痛失三位核心成员。Ted 长年负责春季种植机与秋季挖球机，是农场里最关键的「拖拉机手」，至今仍被苗圃同事深深怀念。

如今苗圃由 Nicholas 与 Linda Gitts 共同经营。女儿 Heather Gitts-Schloe 负责办公室、网站与日常运营，被视为家族生意的下一代接班人。

产品类别与销售节奏

苗圃每年编制业内最大的彩色大丽花目录，主营大丽花球根的零售邮购，提供超过 370 个品种，涵盖 AA 大于 10 英寸、A 8–10 英寸、B 6–8 英寸、BB 4–6 英寸、M 小于 4 英寸以及 Collarette、Pompon、Waterlily、Low Growing、Tall 5′+、Dark Foliage、Heirloom、Bigger Cuts 等花型与株高分系列。

每年春季球根预订季，自 8 月 1 日开放下一年度发货订单；预订截止日通常设在 1 月底，错过窗口需等下一季。配套供应的还有花肥（推荐低氮促花型）、球根分切刀、土壤温度计、防蛞蝓剂、标牌笔、捆扎支柱等园艺耗材，以及盆栽大丽花、切花产品和礼品卡。

2024 年起，订购页面新增「球根球茎切花的新品、专属款」分类，由苗圃自育的 5 到 15 个新品种，每年随目录发布。

自育品种与杂交体系

苗圃每年播种超过 15,000 株实生苗做杂交。一个新品系从首次播种到正式上市销售，平均要经历 4 到 5 年的观察、扩繁与试种。

所有球根都产自俄勒冈州坎比自家农场，并在生长周期内接受俄勒冈州农业部 Oregon Department of Agriculture 的现场检疫。

大丽花节与公众开放

每年八九月，苗圃对公众开放，举办全美规模最大的大丽花节，为期六天，现场布置 400 余个大丽花花艺作品。节庆期间现场设有食品车，周末配现场音乐，并安排面向公众的插花与摄影课程。

秋季常态化开放日为周三至周日（含劳动节），上午 9:00 至下午 5:30。十月至次年七月淡季则改为周一至周五 9:00–16:30，以及周六 10:00–15:00。

访问与位置

苗圃位于美国俄勒冈州 Canby 市，靠近波特兰西南，威拉米特河谷土壤肥沃。从 I-5 公路 Canby 出口可达农场入口。具体地址与邮购回邮地址参见官网联系页。

每份大丽花球根订单都附带苗圃的栽培保证、种植手册与植株标牌；同时苗圃常年开展捐赠花球、摄影比赛、就业岗位招募，并接受面向园艺非营利组织的球根捐赠申请。

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History and Family

Swan Island Dahlias, located in Canby, Oregon, has been owned and operated by the Gitts family for three generations. In 2026, the farm enters its 100th year in commercial production and bills itself as the nation’s largest and leading dahlia grower.

The farm takes its name from Swan Island in Portland, Oregon, where it was first established. In its early years the business was also known as Portland Dahlia Gardens because of a roadside stand in the Sellwood neighborhood.

In the 1940s the operation moved to rented land in Canby. Around 1953, twenty acres of farmland were purchased and the farm relocated to its present site in the Willamette Valley. The original few acres of dahlias have since grown to almost 40 acres.

Nick and Margaret Gitts purchased Swan Island Dahlias in 1963. Coming from a dairy farm in Laurel, Washington, where they had already run a small dahlia business called Laurel Valley Dahlias, they expanded the operation into both retail mail order and wholesale channels.

Losses and Continuity

Nicholas and Ted Gitts joined their parents as partners in 1975, and the parents retired in 1991. The two brothers then ran the farm together until a series of family tragedies.

Nick Sr lost his battle with cancer in October 2007; Ted Gitts and his wife Debbie died in a car accident in the summer of 2013. Ted was the farm’s longtime tractor operator, running the spring planter and the fall digger.

Today, the farm is owned and operated by Nicholas and Linda Gitts. Their daughter Heather Gitts-Schloe manages the office, websites and day-to-day business, and is presented as the next generation of the family business.

Catalog and Sales Cycle

Each year the farm produces the largest full-color dahlia catalog in the industry, listing more than 370 varieties across the AA (over 10 inch), A (8 to 10 inch), B (6 to 8 inch), BB (4 to 6 inch), M (under 4 inch), Collarette, Pompon, Waterlily, Low Growing, Tall (5 ft and over), Dark Foliage, Heirloom and Best Cut series.

Dahlia tuber mail-order opens on August 1 each year for the following spring delivery, with the order deadline typically set at the end of January. The farm also sells fresh cut dahlias, potted dahlias, gardening supplies (low-nitrogen bloom fertilizer, dividing knives, soil thermometers, slug and snail control, label pencils, stakes and ties), gift cards, and a Mercantile gift shop.

From 2024 onward, the catalog adds dedicated New & Exclusive collections built around the farm’s own hybridized varieties.

Hybridization Program

The farm plants more than 15,000 seedlings each year as part of its own breeding program. From the first sowing to commercial release, a new variety typically takes four to five years of selection and stock increase.

Every dahlia tuber sold is grown on the Canby farm and inspected during the growing cycle by the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

Annual Dahlia Festival

From late August through September the farm is open to the public for the largest dahlia festival in the United States, a six-day event featuring more than 400 dahlia arrangements, food trucks, weekend live music and classes in floral design and photography.

Festival hours run Wednesday through Sunday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., including Labor Day. From October through July the regular farm hours are Monday to Friday 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Visiting and Contact

The farm is in Canby, Oregon, about 30 miles southwest of Portland, in the agricultural Willamette Valley. From I-5 take the Canby exit and follow local roads to the farm entrance. The mail-order return address and contact details are listed on the official website.

Every tuber order ships with a cultivation guarantee, a growing guide and plant labels. The farm also runs an ongoing photo contest, a donation program for non-profit gardens and an annual hiring round for seasonal employment.

Official Site: https://www.dahlias.com/