3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias

Dig whenever you want, the tubers don't seem to care. I'm halfway done now and the coldest it's been was a brief overnight dip to 32 degrees- no frost, otherwise generally in the 40's or 50's.

I would be more cautious or discourage pulling on the stems for anything but the final lifting of the clump out of the ground ESPECIALLY if it's wet. That heavy/moist soil and torque coming out of the ground can easily break your tubers. See the link for sound digging advice and photos and follow them.

Note the line where it says "Eyes begin to swell quickly, typically within 4 to 8 days after the plant is destroyed by frost or **being cut down**..." That's why I don't wait for a frost, I could be waiting a long time. To me, the whacking of the plant is what shocks it into survival mode; just like a killing frost would. By not waiting for a frost, I find tuber digging and dividing more palatable now than in 30 degrees and soaking wet, and I still get the benefit of visible eyes by tubers trying their best to survive.
Good luck. Be gentle!

Here is a link that might be useful: digging dahlias

And if you have a fork instead of a shovel___I have less tuber damage with a fork____and less back stress!!!!

Some people think that it might kill bacteria, mold, etc. to prevent rot over the winter. We've never used it & we don't seem to miss it.

Your heartbreaker has reverted to one of it's parents & most likely shouldn't be traded as Heartbreaker. It won't come back varigated again.

Paul,
I visited a dahlia farm this year and the owner told me you have to keep and watch dahlias for something like 3-4 years to make sure EVERY FLOWER is always the same. Then they are called show dahlias and you can enter them in shows. I thought I was confused about some of mine because I would take a picture of a bloom and the next picture I would take was different. I thought I was getting the names confused.

Shirley

As requested, here is the link. Enjoy. I use it frequently and am quite satisfied.

Use the Join Now link at the top left of the home page

Here is a link that might be useful: link to photobucket

..... but some refrigerators actually dehydrate. I know my frost free fridge dehydrates most things. So one has to be careful there. Rule out the unattached shed as it is too cold. If you have an extra "beer fridge" which does not dehydrate, you could set it well above the freezing temperature. Is there a part of your garage that is colder than other parts, where they could be wrapped up and insulated with old blankets, and put into a box ( after the initial fungicide/saran wrap treatment)? ...just some thoughts.

Alexa, the area of your garage that is next to your inside wall can be anywhere from 3 to 5 degrees milder than the other parts of the garage simply by heat making it thru the wall.

If you can put the clumps into boxes, surrounded by peat moss/dry sand/vermiculite....or electronic bubble plastic...it might be protected there sufficiently.
It would depend a lot on just how severe your winter is.

You didn't mention it but are you aware of the "saran" wrap method of cocooning dahlia rubers for overwinter storage.
It takes quite a bit of courage to actually tear all the individual tubers off the clump and expect them to come to anything in the spring.
But that is how the American Dahlia Society now emphasizes growers to do.

Don't panic! You can't always wait someone's ideal time on digging. I am digging as soon as two days after cutting plants down and it isn't making one bit of difference as far as I can see, so far. As a matter of fact, I find the tubers are 'juicier' and rather easier to cut into than after waiting 4-8 days. They otherwise seem to be behaving just like any other year when I waited longer to dig after cutting them down.

So do you have clumps all together still sitting around, or did you try to divide into individual tubers? I can't tell. Pale and smooth is good! You must have cleaned them up very well. Soft might not be so good, you want them pretty firm like a carrot or potato. Mist them with a spritz of water and cover with newspaper for a day if they seem dry/soft.
See posts on dividing, and the websites available with good photos to give you direction. Whether you store as a clump, or 1/4 clumps, or individual tubers, you will want to protect them from freezing somewhere.

Pruning won't make your flowers any bigger than they are meant to be. You might get a better version of your intended flower, but you'll never get a 10 inch monster out of what was born meant to be a a 3 inch flower. Which means I will never be 6 feet tall and have trouble finding shoes!

I usually cut, dig and wrap in the same day or within two days. If I can't see an eye, I can keep them together, and split them in the spring. .... no biggie...

This is one of those toughies!

Little red circles around possible visible eyes. Further washing would help you out here and don't forget the value of a squirt bottle for tight spaces while dividing.
Try to trace which tuber best belongs to those eyes- might be two at a 90 degree angle; cut them both as one entity and store awkwardly that way.

Far right circle might go with # 2
Middle circle might go with #3
Hope that the far left circle goes with # 4 because #1 looks like a real tough customer.

If you trim the obvious/good tubers first, you might have a better visual of where you can separate some of those big stems. Often, multi stemmed plants will just sort of separate themselves once you get a few tubers untangled. Sometimes you just need to bite the bullet and get out a chisel and HACK. Try trimming the big stems off and chisel down the middle of those stem stubs. Haven't had to do that yet, but I have many clumps to go yet. Some are just monsters, even in only one season of growing.

Good luck!

Thanks Poochella, I was tempted to just wrap it up and wait until spring. (Then probably stick it in the ground without trying. But nothing ventured, nothing gained, right!!

Can you eamil me some pics of your dahlias?
tcgreene7@aol.com

DO you want to see all my dahlias or just my 2 fabukis?
I haven't had time to play with photo bucket yet as I HAVE ABOUT 5000 SPRING BULBS TO plant. But I could send photos to you at your own email address..Do you have any fabuki's?.

Nice job cleaning those roots up Jamlover. I break off sprouts now to store for winter. What grew once will grow again, being my motto. The dark brown one is indeed looking like the Mother tuber- usually worth composting, sometimes will regrow.

Isn't it amazing the growth that goes on below the ground as well as above? When my camera battery recharges I will take a shot of the longest tuber I've ever dug- I bet 16 inches easy. I think it was trying to go south for the winter!