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| Hi,
This fall I got many dahlia tubers from a friend of mine for free!! She buys the tubers new every season--does not store the tubers for next season--reason --she says it is better to buy each season than struggle with them whole winter!! This is my first year with these tubers. I have just buried them in a MG potting soil with very little moister in a container. Container is indoor with rest of the plants. Question is--is this alright? Will the tubers survive without any fungus, drying out etc. I have always admired these flowers but never grown them in my garden. Any advice/suggestions welcome. Thanks in advance.
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Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by oscarthecat z7MD (My Page) on Fri, Nov 19, 10 at 8:07
| Anna I am afraid if you store them in Miracle Grow potting soil the tubers will sprout and begin to grow. Vermiculite would be a much better medium for storage. Steve S. |
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| Anna, Steve may be right, but I have heard of people doing this. However, very little moisture in a very cool (not freezing) place. Basically in conditions where they won't grow. Gail |
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| Steve--thanks for your response. I did get some Vermiculite. What do I do next? Remove the tubers from the potting soil and plant them in the Vermiculite? Or do I have to mix something else with this? Do I have to water it just so to keep it moist OR just leave it without water till next spring? Sorry, this is the first time with these tubers and I am little nervous. Would appreciate your response. Thanks |
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- Posted by oscarthecat z7MD (My Page) on Fri, Nov 19, 10 at 16:52
| Just use by itself. Do not add water. Store in cool dry place. |
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| Now I buried tubers in Vermiculite in a container which has no drain holes and left it in the cool dry basement. Question is -- do I need to separate these tubers before placing them in vermiculite? They are in bunch as is pulled from the soil (of course soil cleaned up). Is it better to fill zip lock bags with Vermiculite and place these tubers in them and zip it up? Please advice. |
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- Posted by oscarthecat z7MD (My Page) on Sat, Nov 20, 10 at 7:27
| OK to place tubers in plastic bags but please do not zip them closed. They need some air circulation. Steve in Baltimore County. |
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| As far as whether to separate them ... now that you already have them in vermiculite, it's probably best to wait until spring. Then you can separate them if you want. But when you separate, you have to make sure there's a piece of the crown (the bottom of the stem) with at least one eye on it, attached to each tuber. "They" say that it's easier to see the eyes in the spring. If you do a google search on dahlia tubers, you'll find tons of different ways of dividing and storing. The one from your local Dahlia society might be best for you. I felt more confident after watching a bunch of videos on youtube of people dividing them. That is to say, more confident ... but still not terribly confident! I divided mine in the fall (today!) because I don't have a cool place to store them other than my fridge. I'm hoping I got them divided right! |
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- Posted by redmond_phyllis West WA (My Page) on Fri, Dec 10, 10 at 1:39
| Mine are dug, and put away as of last weekend. I didn't use plastic bags, but do have them in wood shavings inside styrofoam picnic cooler tubs. The lids are on them, and they are probably pretty close to air tight. Being air tight sounds like it's a bad thing, from the discussion above. So . . . how much air should be allowed? Pinholes? Shoud I put a thin piece of wood between the lid and the box? They are made more airtight in that I had to stack the boxes two high to get them into the available storage space. Thoughts appreciated! |
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- Posted by homeseller2010 (My Page) on Sat, Dec 18, 10 at 20:00
| My tuber storage plastic bucket is completely open. Not covered at all. |
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| "They" say that it's easier to see the eyes in the spring." It is easier to see the eyes in the Spring. But the clump will dry out and toughen up making it much more difficult to divide. You will also lose tubers trying to get it divided. Also, if the stem has rot in it, the rot will continue down to the tubers and kill the eyes on the tubers. Best to divide in the Fall if you can. |
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