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splitting dahlia tubers - photos

jroot
18 years ago

I have been splitting dahlia tubers tody. Gosh, this dahlia collecting can get out of hand. Maybe I'll have to have a dahlia sale. LOL Now to find a sunny place to put them ....

I saw some shoots coming from this collection of tubers this morning, and noticed that some were on opposing sides of the old stem, and on different tubers. Aha! more plants, thought I.

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I took my sharp utility knife, and split it down the stem, between the shoots, making certain that there was a tuber to feed the separated shoots.

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I now have two shoots, with tubers attached.

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I dust on some fungicide to the cut, and some rooting hormone, and prepare to pot.

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I line a pot with newspaper. (This keeps the dirt from coming out, takes less soil mixture, and makes it easier to transplant in the spring to the garden, thus not disturbing the roots so much.) I then add scoop of the soil mixture.

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The dahlias are then placed into the mixture and covered.

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After covering the tubers, they are labelled, given a short drink, and set in a warm place to give them a boost.

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Some of the ones I potted last week, I have taken to the garage, and on warm days, I take them outside to get some sunshine, which they truly love and reward me with nice foliage.

I can hardly wait until planting time. Unfortunately, we got dumped on last night with a snowfall, which means of course that the dahlias can't go out and bask in the sun.

....maybe tomorrow.

Comments (90)

  • janellojr
    18 years ago

    DUG UP TODAY WASHED AND SPLIT ONLY GOT 3 TUBERS ON A SEED GROWN PLANT AS BIG AS 3/4 thumb no green shown . Do you need to keep the piece of collar with the tuber or will they shoot from just the tuber next spring

  • Poochella
    18 years ago

    You'll need to keep the bit of the collar or stem with the tuber. That's usually where the eyes are. Not every tuber will have an eye, some will have several. This is where a sharp narrow bladed cutting tool comes in handy so you can make cuts between tubers to sever enough of the stem/collar to give the tuber end enough substance to hold up- maybe 1/2 inch thick behind the eyes, or less. You can trim it down once it's off the clump, along with roots and rat tails.

    I find that there's plenty of careful stabbing involved to get my shears positioned to get tubers off the clump without damaging their neighbors.

    The red and green lines show where I'd make cuts, again going deep enough to keep supportive tissue behind the eyes. You should end up with nice trimmed tubers as shown by Bernie above.
    {{gwi:637516}}

  • jroot
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Excellent photo, Poochella. Are you sure you weren't a teacher in another life? A good photo is always a great teacher aid.

    Here is a link that might be useful: pulling the tubers out

  • pdxjules
    18 years ago

    Thanx all for the great info. Wish i'd seen that potting method last Spring when I had sprouting going on - I'd have had more bloom despite having to wait till Mid-May to plant. I still have Dahlias (from Poochella's collection) that haven't bloomed yet - and so does my neighbor who planted almost half of the box. Hope I still get Tubers from them...as I am eager to Trade. Every one that has bloomed instantly becomes my new favorite.

    Gotta say, I am nervous about making all those fine cuts along the eye areas. I'm already feeling mortified about possibly having some Tubers ruined. How the heck do you handle that? Wine?!

  • jroot
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    pdxjules,

    Wine does it for me. LOL

    As a general rule, one plant will make many tubers, so if one get ruined, there are others to take the place. ...not to worry.

  • skaye
    18 years ago

    I've just discovered dahlias, and am thrilled to find this thread. Hope to be able to use it next year. Thanks for all the wonderful information.
    skaye

  • diane_v_44
    18 years ago

    This has been very interesting. Could some of you show a phot of the shears or knife etc. that you use to make your cuts

  • Poochella
    18 years ago

    Diane I will have time to do this in the next day or two.

    I am getting ready to begin the big cut down of still-blooming plants, but I have not been able to force myself to 'hurt' plants still kicking out blooms. It is a very funny time of year: I am sad to see the flowers go, and yet eager to see that the tubers are done and put to bed before it freezes.

  • triple_b
    18 years ago

    I know what you mean about the funny time of year. It is Oct 26 and we should have had our first real frost at least 2 weeks ago! (zone 5b) However everything is still green, the heliotrope in my planter is still going and the ivy geraniums are loving the cool damp weather. I am waiting to mulch my peonies and other things before sprouts start poking up out of the soil. Global warming i suppose.

  • lanakolo
    18 years ago

    Excellent pictures! Very useful information! Big help!
    Thank you everybody!
    Lana

  • jroot
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Hey Lana. Good to see you here. Those Spring Trade dahlias must have worked for you. Now you'll have lots. Maybe you'll have some nice ones next spring that are different than mine.

  • senator
    18 years ago

    I am new to dahlias this past summer. I dug them up and let them dry. I did not rinse them off or put them in any kind of medium. I put them in a couple plastic pots and they are in my basement. Should I go throught the process of rinsing then drying and then wrapping at this point?

    Help!!!!

  • jroot
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Many people don't go through the process we recommend. The problem is that often they shrivel up and die. Sometimes they don't though but that depends upon where they are placed, temperature, dryness of the air, etc. If I were you, I would take a quick look at them. How do they look and feel? Are they smooth skinned, and firm? If so, you are probably in luck. If not, you may be purchasing new ones next spring. It was quite a few years that I did just that before I learned how to get the better of "mother nature", and increase the odds of survival.

  • linda1031
    17 years ago

    I've just purchased my first tubers (I know it's late, especially in this part of the country - South Carolina at the beach) I'm going to plant this week - your photos are above and beyond. I think I'll just plant and hope for the best. Do I need to divide in the fall?

  • jroot
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    It's that time of year again for many. Checking the tubers today, and at a quick glace, found them all good and still sleeping.

  • jroot
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Beverly (from NW Georgia),

    You have an email responding to your questions. Best of luck.

  • lblack61
    17 years ago

    I love this thread. I don't know how many times I've referenced it over the past couple of years. Thank you to everyone who contributed to it.
    Time for me to check the status of my stored Dahlias and start splitting!
    Linda

  • CAstarter
    17 years ago

    Ok, maybe I am blind but I just dug tubers for first time. They were in ground 3 years. I accidently cut bottoms off of a few of the tubers. Should I just cut those off?

    Also, no shoots, and I am not sure about the eyes. I am in So CAL so I think I can just cut them and put right back in ground right now. Is this right?

    HELP! Tubers laying here in need of some expert help!

  • peachguy
    17 years ago

    Hi everyone first year growing Dahlias and going pretty good. First of all the one that is up and going is a little spindly should i put it outside when i get home from school when it is warm enough? ALso yesterday i got one of my orders in the mail and only one tuber has a visisble eye. Will the others grow eye if i plant them in a shallow dish and water so they are kind of exposed, and replant into bigger pot as soon as eye emerge? thanks

  • jroot
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Castarter,

    I understand that your tubers were in ground 3 years. Here in Canada, we just cannot do that as they will freeze. However, you are indeed in a more friendly climate. Personally, I would not worry if I accidently cut bottoms off of a few of the tubers. If I were in your shoes, I would be tempted to seal the broken / cut end of the tuber with a fungicide and replant. There may indeed by viable shoots coming from the TOP/STEM end of the tuber. You might consider making a really clean cut, if there is not one already. It may be too early to see the shoots and eyes. Alas, as I said, I am not from your area. If there is not danger of frost, and the soil is warm (60+), then by all means go ahead and plant. You don't want them to dry out in your garage, or whereever you have them stored right now.

    Peachguy,

    If your plant's stem is spindly, it is probably because the light is not intense enough ( even through a window). When it is warm, you can put it out, but you must remember to bring it back in at night when it gets cold, or even during the day when it is cold. I know that next week here is supposed to be around the freezing point.

    Sometimes it takes a while for the tuber to develop the eye. What I usually do is lay the tuber out ON some growing media, with maybe a bit on the sides. This is made MOIST, but not wet.
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    Put this under lights or in a sunny window. Soon you should see a shoot develop, and then you can pot it up. This process may take a week or two or three. It all depends on the tuber.

  • jroot
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Peachguy, I trust that you saw that I said MOIST growing media but not wet. If it is wet, the tuber can rot.

  • peachguy
    17 years ago

    Yes I did what you said about lightly covering them, and I brought my one outside for a few hours. So hopfullly it gets a little better. I Dahlia fever now they are sooo amazing looking can't wait for some blooms and for real spring weather to come.

  • soonergrandmom
    16 years ago

    I live in the NE corner of Oklahoma and have a few dahlia plants. I forgot to dig them up and the ones on the south side of the house don't freeze and have returned for several years now. This year I bought a box of 12 from Sam's and planted them in pots. I had them a couple of weeks before I opened the box and some of them had sprouts 10 or 12 inches long. I potted them and left most of the sprout sticking out of the soil mixture. Is that OK? They are in the sun and seem to be doing OK but I will have some REALLY crooked stems. What should I have done?

  • jroot
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Soonergrandom, you will definitely have to stake your plants ( as do most of us ). However, you can pinch them off to a more reasonable height. I would pinch / trim them back to above 2 rows or 3 rows of leaves. You don't want hollow stems, as that traps water, and causes problems, but I would try pinching them back a little at a time until they are about 6 -8 inches tall, or as far back as you can without getting into hollow stems. This will force new shoots out the side, and you will get more flowers as a result as well. It doesn't sound like you are growing these for show purposes anyway, but I may be wrong. I usually pinch mine back, because I like bushy plants with lots of flowers, and I don't have the time to show.

    Good luck.

  • glaswegian
    16 years ago

    Bumping this for good reference

  • pdshop
    16 years ago

    I did the saran wrap on 3 of the dahlia tubers this year and put them in the veg compartment of the fridge. I looked yesterday and they were all moldy. I had dried dthem out and powdered them and than wrapped them? There were three tubers to each wrapping?

  • jroot
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    I have to admit, that I tried the saran wrap method and it did not work well for me. I prefer the recycled grocery bag method. Just that little bit of air helps, I think. Refrigerators are another factor, I fear. They tend to dehydrate. Just look at carrots after a while. They just don't last. I use my cold cellar. I dry them, powder them, wrap them ( there can be about 3 or 4 )in recycled grocery bags fairly tightly, but not too tight, pack them all into cardboard boxes, and take them to my cold cellar ( which does not freeze ). I rarely lose any using this method.

  • gladzoe
    16 years ago

    I had a mouldy one a few weeks ago so sprayed it with Lysol, let it dry for 2 days and planted it in dirt. There appears to be two purple sprouts coming out. Is purple a normal color?

  • glaswegian
    16 years ago

    Just a suggestion to jroot's method above with the newspaper, perhaps coffeee filter from the $ store can serve that purpose as well?

  • dahliagardener
    16 years ago

    Gladzoe-- Purple sprouts are usual for some dahlias- most often a dark colored dahlia- dark orange, red or purple- but some pink ones have purple stems, too.

  • gladzoe
    16 years ago

    Thanks dahliagardner, I'm not sure what colour they are. had two stargazers from seed bloom and two that didn't. They were in the same container together with a couple of glads and I believe they were overcrowded. The tubers looked great, much better than the one that bloomed beautiful in purple and yellow but only produced rat-tail tubers.

  • rose_nutty
    16 years ago

    I tried the saran method this year for the first time. Put all my special ones from Swan's (first time ordering) away that way, and put them in a spare fridge. I looked at them over the weekend, and am very disappointed. I think they are lost. Moldy, and either mushy or all dried up. The rest of my dahlias (the common ones) that I put away as usual in grocery bags in the garage are fine. I don't think I'll ever risk the saran method again. Don't know what I did wrong, but it sure didn't work for me.

  • cats39
    16 years ago

    Hi jroot and All!

    I'm glad to see that you prefer to use the standard method of storing Dahlias rather than Saran Wrapping. I've had excellant luck with my storing in peat moss for the past 5 years from negligable to almost no loss.

    I came close to taking the chance this past fall to Saran Wrap a few but decided in the end to forgo. "If it ain't broke don't fix it.", was my analogy.

    The only problem I've faced this storage season was the unusal warm weather that has forced some of the tubers to sprout when I checked them last week. But at this point I'm not worried.

    Just a few more weeks to go to wake them up again.

    Jim

  • misslucinda
    16 years ago

    I successfully used the saran wrap method. The trick is to completely clean off the dirt and to let them cure appropriately 1 to 2 days depending on the humidity and then store as you would otherwise (no fridge).

    Of course that assumes you have the time in the fall and can find the eyes to divide then. After my success I just fell back into my clump and recycled garbage bag method ala "JRoot" which is just fine if you have the storage space to wait for a spring divide.

    Best regards to you JRoot and your most valuable posting!

    ML

  • sturgeonguy
    16 years ago

    Well, I stored 280+ in saran in a fridge over winter. None rotted or otherwise spoiled in storage, but only 45 eyed up when I planted them. Because last year was my first time dividing, and because I didn't let them sit long enough outside before trying to divide, I had no eyes to go by. I suspect the failures were my fault for not keeping enough material on the tuber to let them eye up.

    This year I'm growing all pot tubers, so dividing shouldn't be a problem.

    I'll be looking for suggestions as to how to store the pot tubers in the fall. I don't have a cold room so I have to use a fridge. I'll probably store them in boxes with a bit of peat to cover the tops of the pots.

    Cheers,
    Russ

  • triple_b
    15 years ago

    Nearly time to bump this bad boy to the top of the forum again.

  • kylajo_08
    15 years ago

    Thankyou thankyou thankyou and thankyou... I was given a few clumps of Dahlias and had NO idea what to do with them! I am afraid I have likely ruined one clump... I dont think they have been divided in maybe 6 or so years... Easily 30 stems at the top of the clump and a LOTS of tubers... I have no idea what they look like even... It will be exciting to see what I have got! (It would have really been a drag if none of them grew!!) so thankyou again!

  • jroot
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    It's that time of year again. I will be laying my dahlias out tomorrow under lights on top ( and very slightly covered) with growing medium.

    Spring is here, the days are getting longer, the weather is getting warmer. I can hardly wait.

  • otnorot
    14 years ago

    Jroot I like your system its simple yet effective wish I had the room to do it.
    Bill 77 years gardening.

  • v1rt
    14 years ago

    I'm very newbie with dahlias. What is the purpose of newspaper?

  • monet_g
    14 years ago

    v1rtu0s1ty, see jroot's first posting with all the pictures. He states - "I line a pot with newspaper. (This keeps the dirt from coming out, takes less soil mixture, and makes it easier to transplant in the spring to the garden, thus not disturbing the roots so much.)" There's loads of information on this discussion - I had to read it several or more times (or frequently) to capture it all.

  • mel-grower
    14 years ago

    Does it matter how the tubers are planted as long as the eyes are up? (meaning laying vertical or horizontal)Also are they like potatoes in which you can cut the bulb part in half and plant both halves as long as you have eyes in each?

  • jroot
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    As long as the eyes are up is good, regardless of whether it is horizontal or vertical.

    Yes, you can indeed split the tuber like a potatoe, as shown in the first two photos. Two for one, or often more. Now that's value. Actually, you will get stronger plants if you do separate them, as they won't be sharing the nutrition of the soil in which they are planted.

  • busylizzy
    14 years ago

    I was suprised how easy it was to split up the tubers when they eyed up, although I can sure split up 50lbs of taters faster than 50lbs of Dahlias, lol.

    Should I pot up or let them be till planting time?
    The tubers are all healthy and plump.
    My growing season is about 105 days at best when I can get in the fields early

    BTW, are Dahlia tubers edible for animals? I have some waste when splitting and pitched some plump tubers I didn't see eyes on or shoots. I was thinking the chickens or bunnies might like them if they are not poison to them.

  • jroot
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Yes, they are easy to split aren't they. What I do, is lay them out with moist medium so they start to root, and when I am absolutely sure that they will sprout, then I pot them up. Potting them up early gives me a head start so I can enjoy them most of the summer.

    Dahlia tubers are indeed edible. The early native people used to use them like a potato. As long as they don't have a fungicide on them from winter storage, they shouldn't hurt the animals at all. I can't feed the animals, because I do dust mine with fungicide and hence have little to no loss during the winter storage.

  • mel-grower
    14 years ago

    I don't think I communicated my previous question clearly when I asked if the dahlias could be split like a potatoe.No where in the pictures does it seem as if you can split the actual tuber itself as you can a potatoe which you can cut up in lots of pieces with eyes,Can you? And I assume they must also have part of a collar,true?

  • jroot
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Mel-grower,

    Thanks for rephrasing the question, as it is a good one. While potatoes have eyes sporadically all over the potatoe, dahlias have eyes only on the collar. I have split the tuber as you suggest with a piece of the tuber, and a bit of the collar containing an eye. The problem that often occurs is that rot sets in, hence I try to minimize the cut on the tuber. That being said, I have had some success doing it the way you describe. Sometimes, I have found the tubers to be too huge, and have cut off the bottom part. When I cut, I always add some bulb dust/fungicide to help cure the cut, and prevent rot.

    I usually start them in the medium first, so that I can clearly see where the eyes are, and then make the cut.

    We all learn through experimentation. Try some, and let us know how it works for you.

    John

  • jroot
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    bump, upon request.

  • gardenecstasy
    11 years ago

    For the first time this year I decided to plant two tubers about the size of an average potato and they both developed substantial tuber growth. I don't really want a bunch of the same dahlias so dividing them seems pointless except if doing so will benefit their growth next season.

    1: Should I divide them now or will they store better if I keep them whole until spring.

    2: Will they put on this same growth next season and become too crowded if I don't at least cut them in half?

    They are both 8 inches in diameter.

    {{gwi:637518}}

    {{gwi:637519}}

  • vikingcraftsman
    11 years ago

    Boy I thought out of the dark and rainy night came JROOT. But alass no.

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