Every tuber I've bought from Swan Island Dahlias has done well, and I'm north of you. They're north of both of us, so they're grown to suit our climates.

As for "easy to store", not sure what your criteria is. I had 5 varieties which didn't sprout this spring...China Doll, Orchid Lace, Zorro, Peaches & Dreams, and Pineland's Pam. I think China Doll, Orchid Lace, and Pineland's Pam were my fault for not leaving enough stem material on each tuber when I divided them. Peaches & Dreams has very long, spindly tubers and I believe the necks were simply too small to survive. They either broke or shriveled up.

Part of the problem was that I didn't dig them up properly. I should have left them in the ground for a week or two after cutting the stalk in the fall; this would have promoted eyeing up and would have made it easier for me to figure out where to cut the tubers.

This year I am going to grow pot tubers. A cutting will be put into a 4" pot and will grow in that all season. This way itÂs easier to lift them in the fall, and I'm told they eye-up much better this way. I store my tubers in a refrigerator which will be much easier with a bunch of 4" pots.

Cheers,
Russ

Thanks for the reply! Will you store them right in their pots? OR will you take them out and store them in vermiculite, or something similar?

Do you have any favorites that you would suggest? I think I am going to try the Dinner Plate Dahlias, they look pretty cool.

Thanks again
Sarah

Right now my thoughts are that I will store them in the pots they'll grow in. I'm anxious to see what the tubers look like come the fall after growing in 4" pots. I've been told they will grow like field tubers (tubers not in pots) and I assume there will be some tubers that will grow outside of the pots...its all an experiment for me...;-]

As for favorites, all of mine have come from Swan Island Dahlias; http://www.dahlias.com.

I have several favorites of differing sizes. On the large side, Purple Taiheijo is gorgeous as is Papageno. Both are relatively early bloomers considering their size. Remember, typically the larger the bloom the longer it takes to bloom, or at least that's been my experience.

I highly recommend two of my favorite smaller dahlias, China Doll and Tahiti Sunrise. Both are incredibly prolific on smaller bushes (2.5'). At one point last year I had some 50+ China Doll flowers off a single tuber. They're both ~4".

You really need to take your time pouring over the varieties. They come in all shapes, flower sizes, and bush heights. Taller bushes can be pinched early to create slightly shorter but wider bushes, but not as much as some advice might suggest. I pinched a Cabana Banana, which is a 7' bush, and it still reached 7'...only it had several main stems and was hard to prevent from breaking at the base (side stems broke due to sheer weight.) Even the broken stems continued to flower, however, but it became a much wider plant splayed out like that.

Consider your garden area, and where you will view them from. If your plan is to primarily view them as cuttings it makes less difference, but if you want to see them in bloom on the bush, you have to give them enough space and structure their height to ensure you can see the smaller/shorter varieties.

I rebuilt my deck into a sunroom in the fall just to accomodate better viewing of my (now) expanded dahlia garden bed. I will have 56 dahlias in the garden, and if all goes well should be able to see them all from the sunroom. Aren't theories grand...;-]

I had success with everything without doing much to them. Do remember they will flower right into November so just because you don't see blooms in mid-September don't be frustrated.

Cheers,
Russ