I pulled up my dahlia plants a few weeks ago and have since stowed away their tubers for the winter months. The Colorado Dahlia Society has a very thorough and informative tutorial about dividing and storing dahlias, but I've never been so meticulous about the whole process. I basically just pull them up from the ground, clip off the stems and brush away the soil. Then I pack them in a bag with a few handfuls of mulch and put them away... in the bathroom closet.
A friend at the community garden suggested using the mulch. I think it helps protect the tubers from drying out. The majority of the ones I stored in this manner last year came back to life and bloomed beautifully this summer. Only a few of the smaller tubers didn't make it, and that's pretty much to be expected. Survival of the fittest. In fact, survival of any living thing that has spent six months hibernating my the bathroom closet is something of a miracle.
I almost posted on this same thing yesterday....I love the mulch idea! Mine are sitting out drying right now, but I'll try the mulch trick this year. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI've started leaving them in the ground to overwinter, covered by a thick layer of mulch and horticultural fleece. So far they've all survived - though our winter is kinder than yours and my soil if pretty free draining so they haven't rotted off. Professional growers (eg Winchester Dahlias www.wgltd.co.uk ) say there are greater losses through poor storage than leaving tubers mulched in the ground!If it saves on digging and then replanting I'm all for it!
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