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highlandernorth

Can the tubers survive some damage, or ends chopped off?

highlandernorth
12 years ago

I remembered how short and stubby the tubers were when I first received them, so when I went to dig the first dahlia up, I only dug out to about 8-9" away from the plant, also because that was how wide the original hole was, and the soil outside of the original hole is all clay.

So when I dug up the first one, which is one of my favorites(Macallister's Pride), I noticed that I had chopped off the ends of about half the tubers. They were chopped from just the end root, and others were chopped 1/3 - 1/2 the length of the tuber. I assume its probably OK to remove the root at the ends of the tubers, but what I'm talking about here is parts of the actual tubers being cut off accidentally.

The, I tried to dig further out away from the base of the plant, but still chopped a few that had grown remarkably long tubers.

But then I really dug further out and no longer chopped any tubers. But then there was another problem.... I had a hard time pulling them up due to the roots growing out into the surrounding clay, and I noticed that after I finally pulled 2 of them up, the thin areas of the tubers near where they connect to the stem had flexed around and bent a little in the process of digging them up, and although they werent ripped or torn, that area looked slightly damaged and mashed a little on a few of them.

So the questions are: 1. Will chopping off 1/3 - 1/2 of them at the root ends kill them or prevent them from coming up next year?

2. Will slight damage at the front end(neck) of the tubers near where they connect to the stem kill them or prevent

them from coming up next year?

Is it Ok to eventually remove the skinny roots off the ends of the tubers?

Thanks.....

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