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| HI everyone. I dug my dahlias and washed them before I read not too. I tried to dry them out and now they are shrinking. Can I do anything to save them? I did not split them, don't know how. If I plant them in pots will I save them? Help please, I had beautiful flowers this summer and I want to replant them. Afraid Vince |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by ken_adrian MI z5 (My Page) on Sat, Nov 29, 14 at 10:27
| thats usual.. to some extent ... how are you storing them??? ... and where??? in my z5 MI ... potting them up now.. would be a nightmare ... any chance at some pix of your setup ... ken
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- Posted by flashphoto 5PA (My Page) on Sat, Nov 29, 14 at 13:44
| I was going to store them in pottiing soil. The are still in plastic pans in the basement. Not sure what to do next? Thanks for the reply |
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| Who told you not to wash them? We store upwards of 20,000 tubers and have washed all of them. Dig the clump, wash then divide. After that, depending on how warm it is where you are, allow them to air dry for a bit. Use a bit of caution here as drying them to long will kill them. We put them in pine shavings in a plastic bag or plastic storage container. The real trick after that is temperature. To cold and they will freeze and die. To hot and they will grow and/or rot. What temperature are you storing them at? |
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| Potting soil is not very good for storing tubers. They put a bit of fertilizer in it and that encourages the dahlias to start growing even in fairly cool temps. Vermiculite or wood shavings are better. Whatever you use, if you are in low humidity climate(very cold weather outside), you need to be sure to pack them in plastic bags to keep them from drying out while in storage. Cardboard boxes are a poor choice as they wick moisture from the contents of the box. . |
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- Posted by gardengal48 PNW zone 8 (My Page) on Sun, Nov 30, 14 at 14:16
| I have always washed dahlia tubers before storing. Like snarg, I let them air dry slightly then wrap in newspaper but storing in barely moistened peat moss, vermiculite or sawdust works as well. I would NEVER store them in plastic bags.....the tubers will off-gas and that plus any condensation that my be present (from tuber moisture) will cause them to rot. Layering them in cardboard boxes is perfectly fine. I've done this for years with virtually no tuber losses from storage. Also, there is no issue to storing the tubers in potting soil, either. I currently grow all my dahlias in containers and once frost has cut back the top growth, I remove that and store the pots in a cool, dark location for winter (a storage shed in my case). This has exactly the same effect as digging and storing in sawdust, etc. The tubers do not start putting out new growth until I bring them out of storage and repot in spring. I divide at that time also. |
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- Posted by morpheuspa 7A--PA (My Page) on Sun, Nov 30, 14 at 16:05
| Strangely, I've never washed before storage--but that is NOT considered optimal. Since I store clumps, often quite large ones, I don't want to suddenly inject water into the inevitable remaining dirt that will cause rot in the bags. Others are stored in the pots they grew in, and I'll take them up in late April or early May. So far, no problems. |
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- Posted by flashphoto 5PA (My Page) on Sun, Nov 30, 14 at 20:35
| Thank you all for your replies. snarg I have a basement that tops off at 50 degrees and a garage that will not go below 40 degrees. I read one of the previous posts that states not to wash them. I would have to look back, but just a recent post. These were great flowering dahlias as my first try and I would like to keep them Thanks vince |
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| Love opposing views. I have been storing dahlia tubers in plastic bags for over 20 years now and I do not seal the bag so there is some air getting in there and my success rate is outstanding. I store several thousand tubers each year. Not only do cardboard boxes wick moisture but they also can rot when they they get moist and can cause rotten tubers. And I have heard of very many people having their entire crop of tubers eaten by mice that chewed through the cardboard boxes. I experimented with the potting soil and put my best tubers in it. They stored much worse than those in vermiculite and sprouted in storage weeks before the others. Sprouting while in storage is not good. Potting soil is not a good storage medium. I would use nothing at all in preference to potting soil. Swan island Dahlias uses no storage medium and places their tubers into plastic tulip crates that are lined on the top and bottom with sheets of newspaper. There success rate is pretty good and they store several hundred thousand tubers each year. However, they have a dedicated potato root cellar for their storage facility and the temps an humidity are ideal. Off gassing does not occur in plastic bags at any rate that hurts tubers if you use vermiculite in the bag and/or you dry the tubers before storage. |
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- Posted by flashphoto 5PA (My Page) on Mon, Dec 1, 14 at 19:47
| HI teddahlia Thanks for all the information. What type of plastic bags are you referring to? Shopping bags or something like a ziplock bag? Again, I appreciate your responses. Vince |
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| We buy the large bread bags from WalMart. We put the tubers, with some shavings, in the bags and then poke some holes in the bag. Keep in mind, no method is perfect. Take everything you learn on the Internet and put together what works for you. It is probably best though if you prepare yourself to have some loss as it is almost inevitable. Good luck in your endeavors and, most importantly, have fun! |
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