Advice on Dahlias.

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I am posting this because I don't want to throw out viable plants, and I don't want to take on a hopeless cause, depending on which it is likely to be!

About eighteen months ago I bought some Dahlia tubers, but as this coincided with my wife becoming very ill, I never got around to doing anything with them. They are still in the cardboard box in which they arrived. I noticed in the spring that they had sprouted, but again, I couldn't find time to do anything with them. It was as much as I could do to find time to mow the lawns. I forgot about the tubers until the other day when I came across them, whilst clearing out the utility room.

They look okay. (About as good as Dahlia tubers ever do.) Will they grow on next season? Can anyone tell me please? Or should I throw them out? I feel stupid asking this really, because I have a feeling they will have dried out. Oh well, it might provide a little talking point. I don't know what the varieties are, as this info wasn't included.

Not very satisfactory, so can anyone recommend a reliable, useful and expert supplier?

I feel even more stupid when I remember my father was a very keen dahlia grower, and every year had a massive display, which used to attract passers-by in the field at the back. They would pause and lean on our fence to admire (And steal blooms now and then.)

Okay so I know I should know more than I do! :rolleyes::rolleyes:. But no one is perfect! :LOL:

PS I want to enter my hardiness zone, but:

a) I don't know it.
b) I can't find out how to do it anyway!
Gawd! I am a plank!
 
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If they have already sprouted quite a while ago, they are probably toast. Once they try to grow, they will starve to death without being planted.:cry:
 
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Hello wobblycogs. Hope your wife is better now :)
Those tubers may well be starved and shrunken by now....as Tjohn said, they may well be "toast" by now. Can you post a picture? They have to get through the winter now without having built up a food supply so......;) if they are still plump you need to feed them well next spring and summer
There are lots of good dahlia suppliers online who will dazzle you with their offerings.
Keep the tubers frost free and dryish......however what facilities do you have? I pot mine up in dry compost and begin watering in early spring.
 

alp

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I would say take a photo of them. Usually, plants WANT to live. Tubers are storehouse of energy. Why not upload a photo so that we can see the state of them.

As I live in Essex where it is hot and droughty, and not wet and soggy. I always plant my tubers where it is hot and sunny. I will leave them in the ground and the following year, they would come up. But if your ground is soggy, it might be a good idea just to pot them up indoors and let them grow. My tubers are still growing and have just begun to show buds.

But I'm no expert. Verdun and Robert might give you better advice.

Hope your wife is getting better. Best wishes from me.
 
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Thank You friends.

The tubers look like , well, like Dahlia tubers always looked to me, but I know they dry out anyhow. Thinking about it I should know they are starved, as they have not been able to build up a store have they? I will get some pics tomorrow (I am going to visit Jean in an hour's time). I don't have a greenhouse, and the shed I was building was put on hold when Jean's health deteriorated. I have a nice cedar-wood cold frame, Obviously more or less frost proof, but I don't think it's quite safe to leave Dahlia tubers over winter! I have a substantial utility room though which is frost proof, and I have used it before for fuchsias and other frost tender plants. I have an oil radiator type heater in there, which I use if harsh weather is forecast.

I will hang onto these tubers just in case, (although I have doubts) and start looking around for a reliable supplier. I don't want hundreds of plants; just about twenty or so for certain spots in my patch, and some to show off with as my house is a corner property with a large lawn to the front.

Thanks for your best wishes for Jean, it is appreciated. Unfortunately, she is in full-time care now, suffering from Parkinson's and associated Dementia, so I know she won't be coming home again. I am still trying to get used to living alone, but that's another story. Thanks again for all your good wishes.

Thanks again for clearing up the Dahlia problem!

Happy Gardening!
:)
 

alp

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@Wobblycogs No need to fret. For £1, you can get very decent tubers from Wilko. You get to see which pack is biggest and which tubers healthiest and bulkiest. They are well worth it. Hope your visit cheers you up..
 

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