I am a novice gardener so please bear with me. I received some potted dahlias last spring, I planted them in my yard and they did very well. So, yesterday I dug up the tubers and now I have a few questions. Do I split the bunch of tubers apart of leave them in a bunch? Should I snip off the roots at the end of the tubers? I think I am ok as far as storage over winter, but in springtime can I start them indoors or should I wait until after the first frost? I live in Northeast Pennsylvania,I think that is zone 6. Thanks for your help!
Dahlia advice
- Thread starter Kell97
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Haha I just gotta report this one. So I google mapped Northeast Pennsylvania and there popped up a place\area google had marked as Northeast but it is up in the northwest corner by the lake!
Which area would you say?
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- Joined
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- Birmingham, AL USA
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Not an expert, but I do have dahlias. There are various ways to fiddle with dahlias after frost catches them.
If you wash the tubers, leave them to dry now, you can see the EYES easily, but don't divide them unless you can tell what eyes are. Without eyes, no plants next year. It's dead serious.
Don't store wet tubers.
Some people store them in separate bulb nettings and keep them in a dry, frost free place, but make sure your guard against rodents and check every week for any undesired changes.
It might be a good idea not to cut anything, Pot them when temperature is above 10c indoors and use JUST MOIST compost. Wet compost might rot the tubers. You can use a propagator and set the temperature at 15c to give bottom heat and new shoots will throw up. You can then take cuttings with a bit of tuber material i,e, cutting very close to the tuber which contains food for the plants. Et voila, you have new plants. An heir and a spare! Sure fire ways not to lose a dahlia.
If you wash the tubers, leave them to dry now, you can see the EYES easily, but don't divide them unless you can tell what eyes are. Without eyes, no plants next year. It's dead serious.
Don't store wet tubers.
Some people store them in separate bulb nettings and keep them in a dry, frost free place, but make sure your guard against rodents and check every week for any undesired changes.
It might be a good idea not to cut anything, Pot them when temperature is above 10c indoors and use JUST MOIST compost. Wet compost might rot the tubers. You can use a propagator and set the temperature at 15c to give bottom heat and new shoots will throw up. You can then take cuttings with a bit of tuber material i,e, cutting very close to the tuber which contains food for the plants. Et voila, you have new plants. An heir and a spare! Sure fire ways not to lose a dahlia.