|
| Is there a way I can start my tubers inside early to see if they are duds or not? I have limited space and only want tp plant the ones that will grow. |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
| By the time most of us are planting in the Spring, the eyes on the tubers are very visible. Many times they are several inches long. Tubers stored in very cold conditions will be very dormant until you warm them up. Some varieties have very small eyes when they are dormant and in order to see if the tubers will sprout, I put them into a plastic bag with some damp potting soil, peat moss, or vermiculite and put the bag in an area of the house where the temperature approaches 80 degrees. If there is not a visible eye in a week or so, the tuber has no eyes. Many people put their tubers into gallon pots in garden soil, a month before the planting date. They put the pots into the house or somewhere where the temperature is 70 degrees or so. Once they have sprouted they move them to sunny location where they will not freeze(or move them inside again if cold weather threatens). They gain a couple of weeks on the blooming season and they know that the tuber has sprouted. |
|
| I'd like to try your method, but my house is not usually close to 80 until mid summer. And when is planting time for me? I am in the Los Angeles area. |
|
| 70 degrees will work but give them another few days. |
|
| Can I start them today? lol |
|
| If your goal is just to check for eyes, you can warm them up and check every day. If you see an eye swelling, put that tuber back into cold storage and then plant it later. Conversely, if you saw an eye when you divided the tubers, you could store them separately from the unknowns. Most people keep tubers with "possible" eyes and many in fact do have eyes. You can start dahlias any time of the year and many people start them in January in greenhouses or under lights indoors. Their purpose is to take cuttings to increase stock. Some people transplant the cuttings into big pots and when they plant them, they are already blooming. |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Dahlia Forum
Information about Posting
- You must be logged in to post a message. Once you are logged in, a posting window will appear at the bottom of the messages. If you are not a member, please register for an account.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review your post, make changes and upload photos.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- Before posting copyrighted material, please read about Copyright and Fair Use.
- We have a strict no-advertising policy!
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.
Learn more about in-text links on this page here
