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Where are the eyes?

Posted by daddysgrl529 NorCal Zone 8 (My Page) on
Tue, Mar 4, 08 at 0:23

I'm new to dahlias & last fall was my first experience storing. I couldn't see the eyes, so I just trimmed off any rotten tubers, "shake & baked" each one in sulfur dust, and wrapped in saran wrap. Because the saran wrap wasn't sealing very well, I also wrapped in foil. Then I stuck them in my fridge crisper for the winter. I checked them for the first time today and they looked exactly the same as when I wrapped them up; still no eyes to be seen. The good news was they didn't look like they'd rotted or shriveled at all.

So the questions is, should I just plant my semi-divided tubers as is, or wait for eyes to appear & divide more before planting?


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wait RE: Where are the eyes?

Hello there,
I think, being kept in the fridge those tubers are like completely dormant. I guess that they start sprouting eyes after you kept them for a while at room temperature.

I splitt mine abot 5 weeks ago. I wasnt too fond of the 2 varieties so I wasnt too anxious. I used a realy sharp knife and diveded a big clump just by guessing roughly. Last year's dry stalks give you a rough idea where to expect eyes. I let the diveded tubers lie for about two weeks so the cuts could dry out nicely (no chemicals needed). Then I potted them in a sand/gravel/ pot ground mixture and watered once. And now after about 3 weeks of sitting around in my cool kitchen they all show some eyes. So if you want a sure bet, pop them in a box with sand/ pot ground ..., water VERY little, give them light and wait. They will sprout. And then you can divide them. But if you plant bigger parts/ tuber clumps, you get stronger plants in my experience.
And even really shriveld tubers of mine produced fresh roots and everything after beeing potted.

Well then, good luck,

cheers, Linaria


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RE: Where are the eyes?

Just bringing them out of the fridge, unwrapping them, and giving them some warmth/light should bring the eyes out. Then you can divide. If you put them out in a sunny window with some soil the eyes should come out.

Check out this great thread for more help!

Here is a link that might be useful: splitting superthread


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