Grace, I might suggest posting this to a more active forum - maybe perennials. There doesn't seem to be much traffic here and I'm not sure how many answers you'll get. I've had several questions go unanswered.

I'm kind of a novice with dahlias - I only grew a handful in years of gardening, treating them as annuals and not overwintering. The last few years I tried a few more, tried overwintering, and then last year I grew about 80-90 dahlias for my daughter's wedding. So I don't have a lot of experience to share, and I'm terrible at taking notes about bloom time and hardiness, etc., (geez, I didn't even label the plants when I planted them so now I'm not 100% sure which is which!) but I can tell you about a few of the ones I grew.

I would highly recommend Cafe au Lait. It's a very unusual color, sometimes very pale apricot-pink, sometimes kind of beigy, sometimes even with a streak of darker pink in the petals. I think this one blooms a bit earlier than the others I had, maybe around June.

Breakout is similar to Cafe au Lait, with maybe a bit more, deeper color.

I have one blooming this year which is IMO breathtakingly beautiful and I'm so ticked off at myself that I didn't label these properly last year. I think it might be Innocence, but I'm not 100% sure. Very soft pink.

Lastly, going in the complete opposite direction, I loved Thomas Edison. A wonderful deep purple, big blooms, and just a nice pop of color in bouquets.

Again, I can't speak to the hardiness, or bloom time of these, or even how floriferous they are, since I just don't pay the attention I should to these things, but maybe these few suggestions will get you started. I'm happy to share some of the others I grew (mostly whites, pinks, lavenders) if you are interested, although again, I can really just provide names, and not a lot of info.

Good luck! It's such a hard thing to do, to choose between the very many beautiful dahlias, so I wish you luck lol!

:)
Dee

The Karma dahlias are developed for cutting and bloom early. They are mostly sold by the tray from Germania or Gloeckner, which are wholesale but you can find plenty of retail choices by searching "karma dahlias".

Thank you both! I absolutely love "innocence" and the karma varieties are gorgeous. It's even better that they were made especially for cutting. I'll have to utilise the perennials forum next time thank you so much :)

I have a small flower farm in Iowa, zone 5b. "Best for cutting" is kind of a loaded question. Some are certainly more prolific than others. Some are highly sought after by brides who have seen them on the internet but not prolific and difficult to use in a bouquet (cafe au lait). Ball types have a longer vase life and work well in arrangements. Medium size decoratives like Sweet Natalie or Castle Drive are just as beautiful as many of the dinner plate varieties and are easier to use in arrangements. If you do want a dinner plate, Fleurel was extremely prolific for me. Research what small scale flower farmers are growing in your area.