Due to recovering from surgery, I never got a good mulch on the beds last year. However, nearly all of these dahlias were fine.

HOwever, the other bed is along a fenceline, only abut 24 feet away. The soil is not quite as well cultivated but it is the only place I had left for my continually expanding collection. The ones for my cut flower business go into the bed n the middle of the garden. THe ones I buy mostly for my own enjoyment and the larger ones go into the outer bed.

I would say that 1/3 of the ones in the outer bed are not going to regrow this year. MAny seem to have had half the tuber eaten, or rotted off. THe clump sort of disintegrates when I dig it up, with no new growth on the necks of any of the tubers. Why the big discrepancy in the two beds? The center bed got a nice layer of compost put on in about March and it is more weed free then the outer bed.

All I can think of is that it may have been voles eating them and hten rotting because of that. There is a bank below this bed with exposed earth that probably makes a lovely winter home, especially with a big pile of boughten compost dumped on top of it.

Any other guesses? I would sure like to be able to leave these tubers in the ground over the winter...I do not do well with digging and storing. IF it is voles then mulching them will only provide more of a place for them to enjoy their winter underground, won't it?

Well, the bright side is that I can try a bunch of new varietes this year...but some of the old ones I will really miss!

If its not voles, then it could be chipmunk. They typically have 30'runs with many exits and that run was in one of my garden beds a few years back. They didn't actually eat my plants but some plants died from having their roots exposted to the frost and snow. As unkind as it was, I resorted to sticking ammonia soaked rags in their 'doorways' and that solved the problem.

Anyhow, the potted dahlias are all in now! Now about the rest of the big glad order....

It is an almost overwhelming job to catch up after taking so long off gardening. Maybe I am glad this summer is the coldest on record since sometime in the 1800's here! Then no one will know that things actually never got planted!

But I expect to have enough dahlias no one will notice the missing zinnias and sunflowers! Dahlias sell better anyhow at my flower stand!