Your Dahlia Needs This In October. Most Senior Gardeners FORGET About It., by Gardening with Ruth on YouTube. 17 min 23 s.
- Video length
- 17 min 23 s
- Time to do it
- 1 hour
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 10
What you need
Steps
Wait about a week or two after the first frost kills the foliage before digging. The tubers keep curing underground in that time, and digging too early is a common cause of rot.
Check your zone for timing. In zones 3 and 4 dig before hard freezes set in, and in zones 5 to 7 dig roughly two weeks after the tops blacken.
Cut the stems back to about 6 inches and label each clump with the variety name now, before the tops are gone and you cannot tell them apart.
Loosen the soil about a foot out from the stem with a fork, then lift the whole clump from below. Never pull on the stem, which snaps the necks.
Shake off loose soil and check each tuber. A tuber needs a piece of crown with a visible eye to grow, so keep only pieces attached to the crown.
Discard soft, mushy or rotten tubers. Cut away small bad patches with a clean knife and let the cut surface dry before storage.
Let the clumps dry in a cool, airy, frost-free place for a few days, not in direct sun. Dry too fast and they shrivel, too slow and they mold.
Pack the tubers in vermiculite, peat or paper bags that is barely damp, like a wrung-out sponge. Too wet rots them and too dry shrivels them.
Store the box in a spot that stays between about 40 and 50 F all winter, such as a cool basement or garage corner.
Check the tubers every few weeks through winter. Remove any that are soft or moldy and mist the packing if it has dried out completely.
Tips and common mistakes
Do not wash the tubers with water before storage, since extra moisture invites rot.
In zones 8 and 9 you can often leave dahlias in the ground over winter with a thick mulch, but check drainage first.
Write the variety name on the tuber itself with a marker as a backup to the label.
Keep stored boxes away from fruit, which gives off gas that speeds up sprouting.
Questions
Can I dig dahlias right after the first frost?
No. Wait about a week or two so the tubers finish curing underground. Digging too early is a common reason stored tubers rot.
What temperature should I store dahlia tubers at?
Aim for a steady 40 to 50 F in a dark, frost-free spot. Warmer than that and they sprout early, colder and they freeze.
Why do my stored dahlia tubers rot every winter?
Usually the packing medium is too wet or the storage spot is too warm. Use barely damp vermiculite and check the tubers every few weeks.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
