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portia_gw

East Coast Dahlias..anyone leave in the ground?

portia
9 years ago

I'm new to dahlias, not new to gardening... I know here in the colder zones that it's typical to dig up the dahlias and store them over the winter.

But surfing through the forums yesterday I saw a post from a gal who I believe is in zone 6 and leaves hers in the ground, deeply planted vs digging them up. She said she loses a few here and there but that they also seem to multiply like crazy in the ground so it more than makes up for any losses. (It was a fertilizing thread, not a dahlia post so it was a lone comment)

This intrigues me because I would, of course, like to not have to overwinter. So, anyone else do that? If so, what do you do, how deep do you plant, do you mulch like crazy on top, etc. And if so, what are your typical results? Thanks!

Comments (6)

  • KarenPA_6b
    9 years ago

    All of the dahlias that I left in the ground last winter were damaged by the cold and rotted even with large leaf bags on top of them. This winter had been brutal. In the last two winters before this one, I was able to overwinter the dahlias in the ground with no problems. It depends on the winter whether the bulbs will survive or not.

  • symi77
    9 years ago

    Most of my Dahlias survived this winter in the ground , which is surprising me because winter this year was very cold. Of course, I have lost some of them, but not as many as I have expected. Last year in October 28 after the first frozen night I decided to cover them with pine straws .

  • portia
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Makes sense that they might be fine if the winter is not severe, but of course you don't know that til it's potentially too late. Food for thought!

    If I can keep them all in one bed it would be easier for digging them all up at once vs interspersing amongst other plants. Right now I am currently trying to eye them up on a damp bed of soil in a super sunny guest room.

  • steve22802
    9 years ago

    I have managed to overwinter dahlias several times and I've come up with a method that seems to work pretty well. There are two main things that dahlias don't like when they are dormant: freezing and sitting in soggy soil. So here's the method I use to deal with these two issues:

    1. Plant the dahlias in raised beds of some sort so that the clump will not sit in water over the winter.

    2. Cover the bed in the fall with a thick layer of dried organic material (leaves, pine needles, planer shavings, etc.) for insulation.

    3. Cover the insulating material with clear plastic. This will shed water off of the insulating material (wet materials have poor insulating value) and off the tubers. The clear plastic allows the sun to shine through periodically throughout the winter to help keep the mound thawed.

  • portia
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks for the info Steve...how did your dahlias fare this last winter?

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