How do you store yours? I an just about o dig up the Dahlia tubers for winter storage and wondered what is the best way to store them. Dry in boxes or slightly damp in soil?
All suggestions gratefully received.
I have never bothered, I just cut them back to six inches and mulch.
I only have one so far but it's got through a couple of winters here under leaf mould mulch. We do get mild winters though. What are your winters like?
We can get very cold sometimes. I left them in the ground last winter and they were fine. The only thing was that they produced a lot of spindly growth this year. I need to move them anyway so thought that I would dig them up and start again. I am hoping that if I can over winter them in the spring I can split them and take cuttings there by increasing the stock and avoiding the spindly growth.
When you lift the tubers cut the stems down to 4 to 6 inches, wash off any soil then push a knitting needle down the stem then turn them upsidedown doing this helps let any water drain out from the tubers, once dry store them in dry soil or compost, they must be kept frost free, if in future if leaving them in the ground over winter you can take cuttings from the new shoots just as normal
^^^ Now I know why I leave mine in the ground and hope for the best!
I have an outbuilding that stays reasonably cool and frost free. I store onions hung up in it. For the dahlias, I put a big piece of cardboard on the floor and pack them together on it. Some have quite a bit of soil round the tubers. I probably check them once a month. If any small ones are looking too dry, I pot them up in old compost. In the spring, I put them in a greenhouse in some bread crates I've acquired and cover with a mix of soil and old compost. When they sprout, I sometimes take cuttings or just plant them out.
A dahlia query
I've got some bedding dahlias in small 2" pots that are gasping to be planted out. The poor things are a little leggy and trying to flower, usually with one single tall bud. Do I nip this bud out or leave it to flower?
I'd pinch out any leggy ones to encourage side shoots.
You can also plant dahlias deeper and bury the stem, like a tomato.
My thoughts too, nice to have a kindred spirit. Thanks Garrett.