The tiny tuber looked good upon arrival. I ordered Groovy for the strong reviews of "vigorous grower" as well as the reported beauty. First order with Swan Island and 3 out of 7 tubers ordered have not performed well (one died, Groovy is so stunted that the growth is only 4", one "wild cultivar" tuber is stunted with weak looking leaves). I also ordered dahlia tubers for the first time with a different company and all of them are currently flourishing with abundant flowers and strong plants. I mixed the plantings of all the tubers, so the Swan Island Dahlias are growing in the same plots as the flourishing other company dahlias. Swan Island is replacing one of the 3 tubers next season, so I shall see next year how Tapioca grows. As a note of FYI: the "warranty" is only up to a certain date to turn in photos of the tubers in question. I only turned in one by that date because I did see some growth on the other two that didn't perform well, but with more time, thinking they would catch up after sprouting, the date to turn in photos had passed. So if you have a colder zone or chilly season with slower growth, you may be out of luck with some of Swan Island's dahlia tubers' warranty. I spent over $80 on this order for the season. I spent a total of less than half that with the other company with 100% abundant success. I may be an anomaly in the statistics of buyers here, but wanted to at least post my experience as a first time buyer.
