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Over-winter Dahlia Tubers(page 1)
GARDENACTION Plant Profile
DAHLIA FLOWER
This is the time to start the over-wintering process. Leave it
much later and a severe frost may well damage the dahlia tubers.
Dig Up The Tubers
Over-winter Dahlia Tubers
(page 1)
After a summer full of dahlia flowers, the first frost of the season will cause some of the leaves on the plant to
blacken.
If the odd dahlia flower is still
blooming, cut it and put it in a vase inside as a last memory of the fading summer!
Cut the dahlia plants down, leaving a four to six inch stem stub.
The waste can safely be put on the compost heap.
Remove any support canes.
Place
the fork approximately one foot from the stem stub and insert it deep
into the soil at least eight inches. Then gently pry back on the fork to
loosen the soil. Repeat this action to totally encircle the stem stub
and loosen the soil. At the last insertion, prying back on the fork
should lift the stem stub and the clump of dirt. Taking hold of the stem
stub, gently lift while prying back on the fork until the clump comes
free. Lift gently on the clump with one hand, letting it partially rest
on the soil. Using the other hand, carefully remove the soil from the
tuber clump. This must be done gently. Many tubers have rather small
necks and can be broken or cracked while loosening the soil or carrying the clump to another location. A tuber with a cracked or broken neck
will not grow. Having dug up the dahlia tuber, gently hose it down to remove almost all traces of earth.
Name: CrowMeris
E-mail: Private
Date posted: October 24, 2011 - 10:12 am
Message: You should have a much better showing next year, Ms. Wright. Tubers that we buy through the mail or in stores are often not handled with care; they are exposed to variances in shipping temperatures, allowed to shrivel, and so on. A winter spent with you treating them correctly will help them greatly.
When you replant them in spring, give them a bit more room than you think they need. Crowded dahlias will produce smaller blooms. Tuck some shallow-rooted annuals around them to fill in the space. Also, for the biggest blooms you must sacrifice the number of blooms - pinch off most of the buds so the remaining ones can achieve a larger size.
Name: Colette Wright
E-mail: cwright370@aol.com
Date posted: September 17, 2011 - 12:52 pm
Message: This year, I purchased "Dinner - Plate" dahlias. Result was not what I expected. Very short growth, 6 inches to 2 foot tall. Very few blooms and blooms that we did get were only an inch across. This was not a good growing year -- near drought conditions -- so we had to do a lot of watering with city water. Not the same, as rain! If I over-winter these, might they be "Dinner - Plate" size next year? Thanks for your advice. Colette
Name: rico suerte
E-mail: rengiealimanggosuerte@gmail.com
Date posted: May 11, 2011 - 12:18 pm
Message: Interesting post! Indeed a very helpful one. Now I can grow these dahlia tubers I got from Lynch Creek Farm.
Name: Francine Turner
E-mail: Private
Date posted: September 07, 2010 - 10:56 am
Message: Lovely page for information.And will
be back for more very easy site to find information on here.I most deffinately will be back. Thans Mrs Francine Turner