3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias

If you don't need to worry about freezing, then you can dig up, separate, and replant. Up in the northern area, we have to dig up and keep up until spring, hence the wintering process inside.....a lot more work than you have to do.

Avoiding vandalism is another question entirely, and not one that I have to worry about here. I would be tempted to build a little artistic fence around it, which would serve two purposes, 1) anti theft deterent 2) something for the dahlia to lean against, and it might actually look rather classy, depending on the fence you choose.

Thanks, Jroot! Glad I don't have to worry about being weird and just moving them. :)

I've been wondering if it's legal to place wires with a mild electrical surge running through it. Probably not, even with a sign that says, "Warning, do not touch, high wattage!" I'll look into that fence.

Bonus! You certainly can pinch the sprouts off. The bonus is that you can see readily where the eye is, and can do your separating now. Sometimes, it is next to impossible to see where the eye is, and one has to wait until spring when one starts them up.

Not all tubers have eyes, and so you can readily see which are the best ones to keep.

Here is a link that might be useful: tubers with an eye

Thanks for the information. I ended up leaving the eyes on them and storing them that way. I'm sure they'll be raring to go come spring.:)

Dahlia tubers are planted in the Spring. In central and northern parts of the country, we are preparing to dig them up and store them inside for the Winter.

I live in Ks and love to grow dahlias. I usually plant in late April or early May, depending on the weather. I dig after the first frost, which will be soon. If I have time after they're dug,I get the soil ready for next year. Did in plenty of compost and a good sized handful of bone meal. I use large tomato cages to hold them up in our Ks wind, and sometimes have to put in an extra stake at that.

I find that tubers are more variety-based on how they will behave than soil-based. Some are just small globules gnarled together, some are long, lean perfectly behaved tubers with separate necks; some are monster tubers big enough to serve a family of four.

I never fear that I will add too much compost or organic material to my garden, however. It helps in so many ways. And it smells good! Makes the soil easier to work, easier to dig, and I think easier to water.

Are those "little white warts" the eyes of the tuber? Are they near the stem? If so, they very well may be the eyes of the tuber which are next year's growth spots.

That being said, the tubers from last year will be old and withered, and beside that old tuber ( if it still exists at all) will be the young tubers which will give next year's plants.

Do your research before you pull off more "little white warts".

If you decide that they are diseased, do not store them with your healthy tubers, but discard them. Don't even compost them if your composter does not get hot.

Well, they're not eyes (that's for sure) The eyes I notice are more up at the top of the tuber. These little things are all over the body of the tuber. They're kind of fleshy feeling.

I wrapped these ones up separately just in case they are infected with something. Never know what I'm going to find in the spring. :)

Names, we need names...pleeeese, whine, whine. I want them all. I love the far left one in the top photo, no- the 2nd from the right, no- the big bright ones in the bottom photo, no-wait....
Lovely photos, thanks for sharing with us.

I'm sorry I didn't include the names. I'm still new at this.
Top photo: left-right Mrs. Eileen, Fleurel, Lavender Perfection, Kelvin Floodlight. Second photo: Emporer. Bottom photo: Procyon.

We don't have his catalogs but we correspond with him & can ask if he has any he would like to sell or share.

What are the names of the two dahlias in pic??? How are your dahlias doing presently? When will you start to dig them and divide the tubers?

"Ruthann" is in the foreground and that is "Summer Night" behind her. Summer Night bloomed like crazy by the end of Summer. Its dark color makes the other dahlia colors in an arrangement pop right out. I started cutting stalks last week and began digging yesterday. In my experience, I've found that by cutting the stalks and then waiting several days before digging, it is easier to see the eyes. Sunday night was our first hard frost.

Very pretty red !! Good for you, raising them from seed.

Thanks for sharing and good luck with the tuber saving.

Marsha

That's nice. I do like the darker foliage.

There are many different types of dahlia, and many different sizes. Some of the smaller ones would be ideal for patio gardening. I have actually used some of the 4 foot dahlias in large pots as well for a spectacular show.

Here are some contacts for you to explore

Vancouver Dahlia Society:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vandahlia/
http://dir.gardenweb.com/directory/vds/

Canadian dahlia information
http://www.members.shaw.ca/hydahlia/

Yes, there are conflicting articles about how to save your tubers over the winter. Without going into all of the articles ( which would be too confusing to most, as well as too time consuming), we can only say what works for us.

Check out the link below. There are a lot of ideas about saving the tubers, and also separating the tubers, as well as getting them started in the spring.

Here is a link that might be useful: splitting and storing of tubers.