Moving a Dahlia

A little help i hope.

I bought some Dahlias last year (2023), potted them up and planted them out mid late spring. Full sun free draining soil.

Rightly or wrongly i left the majority of them in the ground over winter and with this last winter's very very wet weather i thought i would have lost the lot, but i haven't

There growing, but because of the continued dark and cool weather, there not doing great so far. Those that i did dig up are flowering well now in the ground.

It's a new garden and i also planted some shrubs which are doing considerably better than expected and shading out a couple of the dahlias altogether already... unexpected!


Can i / should i dig up the shaded dahlias now and replant them in full sun, or leave them and dig them up in the autumn.

I have decided that it is definitely worth digging them up and storing them over winter indoors. Those that i did dig up "Just in case" are doing so much better than those that i left in the ground over winter.

 

If you are careful, you can certainly move them now, but they will need extra care afterwards.

 

If you have space in a sunnier location, prepare the new planting holes first then move your dahlias with as much of the rootball as possible, preferably late afternoon or early evening when it’s not too hot. Apply an organic mulch on the soil surface and keep them well watered. They should then flower well for you if the tubers are healthy.

 

Well going against all... we were given some dahlias many years ago from our younger son now deceased and planted them under an apple tree near our "lawn". I have never lifted them and each year they come up and flower better then the last year. They aren't in flower yet but the growth is increasing.

 

It can be hit and miss when leaving them in the ground. I've never left them out as they'd either rot, or be eaten as soon as they appear. I rarely plant directly in the ground either, for that reason. More work lifting them than if they're potted.
It very much comes down to the conditions and climate you have though. Most people find that ones left out will grow bigger and earlier, but that would usually be if conditions suited them. Many of them take some shade quite happily too.

 

Thank you to those that have replied thus far.

Being new to dahlias and with so much stuff to do last autumn. New bathroom and kitchen etc i decided to leave them in the ground, knowing that my gardens soil was free draining, so i hoped that they would survive the winter. Not knowing of course that we were going to experience one of the wettest winters ever. With this, i assumed they were all lost.

I did dig up one of each variety just in case. These are fairing far better than those left in the ground, so i'll be digging them all up now every year.

I have now lifted and moved two Dahlias "Star Wars" and roughly half of the tubers were rotten, so i've removed the rotten ones and replanted them in full sun. This morning they are looking perky and don't look as though they've suffered at all.