Topic: Dahlias

[lewic]

I forgot to dig up my dahlia bulbs in autumn so they have been frosted, so I assume wont grow next year. 

B&Q are selling dahlia bulbs and they say to plant them now... surely they will just get frosted if I plant them in the middle of snowy winter? Can anyone enlighten me!

[saddad]

Unless they are soft and mushy they might sprout... Don't plant new ones yet.. they will just die..  :-X

[lewic]

Thats what I thought.. I trust your judgement more than B&Q's sign!
Will try to dig up the other bulbs in case any can be rescued.

[saddad]

Store them in dry conditions... dry compost/peat in a frost free place... ours are in the cold greenhouse, not totally frost free but we haven't lost any in years.. and OH didn't lift ours before they had spent two weeks frozen in...  ::)

[elvis2003]

the hubbie left his dahlia in overwinter last year,and they all came up fine,despite his sleepless nights worrying about them,he didnt get round to getting them up this year either,but he has covered them with a very thick layer of straw,so fingers crossed he gets away with it again!

[Sparkly]

the hubbie left his dahlia in overwinter last year,and they all came up fine,despite his sleepless nights worrying about them,he didnt get round to getting them up this year either,but he has covered them with a very thick layer of straw,so fingers crossed he gets away with it again!

A guy on our site does this every year and has wonderful dahlias.

[Unwashed]

Pleased you asked this lewic.  I lifted mine, but they're getting frosted - some mushy, some firm.

[Tee Gee]

Can anyone enlighten me!

Pot them up as 'pot tubers' to produce cuttings then you can increase your stock as wel.

Plant out when all fear of frost has passed!

http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Dahlias/Dahlias.htm

http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Dahlias%20%28bedding%29/Dahlias%20%28bedding%29.htm

[Pesky Wabbit]

I forgot to dig up my dahlia bulbs in autumn so they have been frosted, so I assume wont grow next year. 

B&Q are selling dahlia bulbs and they say to plant them now... surely they will just get frosted if I plant them in the middle of snowy winter? Can anyone enlighten me!

I wouldn't be so hasty to dismiss them just yet.

More important than a bit of frost is what kind of soil have you got and how deep did you plant them ?

Its not so much the cold that kills them, more the damp. If you have free draining soil and they are planted deep enough to miss the worst of the frost , they'll be absolutely fine. The frosty weather we had only penetrated the first inch of soil at most, plant any lower than that and you will be ok. Also the snow provides a warming blanket and helps soil underneath not to fall much below zero; a frost can make the soil far colder.  :)

If you have good soil and planted them a good few inches deep, they'll stand a better chance of survival than Saddads in his cold greenhouse.  :)

[Pesky Wabbit]

Also I wont pot up this years ones until March, and put them outside Early May. Do to it now is asking for trouble.

[BAC42]

I live in Essex and never lift mine. Up to now I have never lost any but after the last few Weeks it will be interesting to see what happens.

[Squash64]

I foolishly went down the plant aisle in Wilkinson's today and had to buy some dahlia tubers because
 

• there was a lot of choice
• they were lovely firm tubers
• they practically leapt off the shelf into my basket

I've never bought any so early in the year so now I've got the problem of where to keep them till I can start them off. 

[laurieuk]

Some of the dahlia tubers that are in stores rather than nurseries are dipped in wax to stop them shriveling . they can be very difficult to get started as the wax stops the moisture getting in. It is worth watching this when buying tubers very in the season.

[Bugloss2009]

I've never bought any so early in the year so now I've got the problem of where to keep them till I can start them off. 

i've stored my lifted tubers on the floor of the passenger side of my car  :D

[Squash64]

i've stored my lifted tubers on the floor of the passenger side of my car  :D

They would probably take root in all the dirt on the floor in my car!

[phlips66]

grew them for the first time last year and had some smashing flowers, and i also lifted them.
 my local garden centre has a dahlia showground,and will talking to some of the guys there involved with it,they said that they lift some of them and leave they others in the ground,covering them with staw or a dressing of mulch,they say there are far to many to lift and store.
 they do lose a few that are left in the ground overwinter,but on average the loses are not that much

[Squash64]

I never lift mine.  I put a thick covering of straw on them before we get the first frost and this is usually fine. 

We used to have a man on our site who grew them for shows and he never lifted them.  He had fantastic plants.

[lewic]

Next year I'll definitely leave them in but covered up then. Have a ready supply of cardboard at work. Bought some lovely ones today, that are supposed to grow to the size of dinner plates!

[Squash64]

This was grown by the man on our site who never lifted them -

[attachment=1]

[lewic]

Ooh I want! They are gorgeous. Looks like a serious cage he has got round them.. I wonder if there is a less conspicuous way of supporting them? I am more into looking at them in the garden than cutting them.