3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
..... 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!
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!
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!
Avalon is an informal cactus. It is a yellow & pink blend. Pink outside yellow towards centre, it blooms a lot. It is like the energizer bunny.Another early bloomer here is Audrey Grace, a knockout orange red color; very unusual;one of the hottest colors in the garden.It is a formal decorative, 5 in. blooms, 5ft tall. I just love it, of course I say that about a lot of them.Another is Aztec Gold a 9 in.4 ft. semi cactus,golden yellow and it is also a prolofic bloomer.
You are not crazy Jackie O. Keep tubers in the dark in a box or styrofoam cooler, or any cooler I guess, for insulation, ideally in a place between 35-45 degrees. I had a boxful out on the deck last night and we hit 32 overnight, but no harm done.
FLowergirl KS, In your zone I wouldn't try leaving them in the ground, unless you don't mind losing them. I'd just go ahead and get them out of the ground annually, and if you do it now, you have a greater chance at keeping them alive for next year.
My two cents worth.
Hovering at 32 degrees right now, frost on the rooftop but dahlias still look okay. I have a bunch of cut tubers shivering out in the garage- glad I threw a towel over them last night!
Jim, I feel for you cutting in the cold, dank, drippiness. Even on a fairly nice day it is a cool damp job to wash all those clumps. OUr soil is very moist this year too: all the way through the clumps, but I found if I take extra time to dig around all angles and gently wedge the clump up, there is not so much breakage. I'm trying to dig away as much top soil to lighten the load, as I can, then get rid of as much wet soil as I can before moving the clump very far.
Your 'wet mud/pulling with a rope' reminded me how easy it is to break those tubers with too much force or weight on them.
Good luck, and stay warm!
Al, I'm on the line between zone 5 and 4 right across the middle of the state so I usually consider myself a zone 4. However it was Oct. 22 before we had a killing frost and things on the south side of the house still are blooming away___like iris immortatily. And my castor beans.
Perfect time to dig! Don't worry about the new shoots, but when you go to divide whatever bounty might lie underground in the form of tubers, use those shoots' locations as little green guides on where to cut at the stalk/tuber junction. You'll hopefully have a viable, strong-necked tuber next spring with nearly guaranteed growing potential.
Good luck!
Pardon the blur, but arranged these tubers to show some varying sizes and shapes; Decent tubers are the 4 on the right. Double tuber could not be cut apart safely so will be stored that way- it's less than desirable in thinness, but worth a try. Most at risk is the skinny one on the far left: thin neck prone to breakage, rot, shrinkage if dried too long. I will still try to save it and see what happens. What have I got to lose?
Great! I can see from the paper towel the approx. size, and mine aren't a whole lot smaller. I feel better about trading tubers that are smaller than the "baker" size I sometimes receive from the commercial growers. Thanks for the effort, Puchella. I've been dividing every night and will have trade stock/inventory ready by weekend!
clay
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