I was wondering when I can plant it and if I can't plant it now, should I keep it in the bag?

Will it bloom this year?

Since I live in SE Pennsylvania, will they over winter outside?

Thanks for any help that anyone can provide!

1. Do you get frost?
- If you do, then you should lift tubers and not plant until all chances of frost are gone.

2. I would say that there is never a good reason to keep a plant in a bag if its planted. Perhaps I misunderstood the question.

3. Over-wintering in the ground is totally relative to frost. I have people "in-town" 10 miles away whose Dahlias survive most winters, but I can't here on the lakeside. I'd suggest you consider the cost of replacing versus the effort to over-winter inside. If you can afford to replace, then leave them in the ground.

Cheers,
Russ

Check the crown end and see if you can see a sprout, or what is called an "eye", which is a sprout forming. If you can, then make sure that is on the up-side of the laying tuber. If you can't see an eye or sprout, no worried, just lay it whatever way you want (but sideways.)

See, Dahlias are surface root plants, their roots are typically near the surface of the soil, that's why you plant them laying on their side.

If you don't want the work of monitoring the sprout in a depression, just fill the hole in. Before you do, put a stake in the ground to tie the plant up to such that the stake is near the crown end.

Make sure the stake is tall enough, and sturdy enough, to handle whatever your plant size is.

Good luck!

Cheers,
Russ

I planted up at the beginning of April and put it on the sun porch. It has doubled in size since then. Awesome!

When would it be safe to put out? Mid May is our last frost date.

Cheers,
Russ