Dahlia tubers

Can you cut up dahlia tubers to create more plants? I know you can do that with potatoes and I wonder if dahlias would be the same.

Enjoy your garden this weekend all of you

Sally

 

Well we do!! We had one Bishop of Llandaff and a deep burgundy one of which I don't know the name. We split the bulbs a couple of months ago and now have two of each :D

 

You can split tubers, but you need to take a small section of the old stem with each piece, if you just cut off tubers without a section of the crown of the plant they wont grow.

Its normally done around planting time in April or there abouts.

 

I would agree with Pete. The tubers are enlarged roots that are simply storage organs. You can't chit them like potatoes which are enlarged stems (not roots) and therefore growth can come from them.

As Pete says you must have a bit of the woody crown at the top. The new growth comes out of the crown.

 

I planted several Dahlia tubers in a garden 3 years ago ... bought packs from poundland (can't remember, but think there were packs of 3 differnt colours for a pound)

for 2 years, they were really nice ... never bothered to lift them before winter

this year, there are none, so I think last winter killed them off ... I planted them a bit deeper than recomended as I knew I would not bother with lifting them

 

Thanks for all your advice and comments. Would it be possible to cut them (including some of the plant we are lifting) before storing and drying over winter?

Sally

 

Sally you should not be lifting them for about 2 to 3 months yet.

And its best to divide in spring after being stored through the winter.

If you divide at the time of lifting you might get away with it but rot could easily set in on the cut areas during the storage over winter.

 

Dim - I think Dahlias have two problems over winter - cold and wet. If you plant them deep enough you can overcome the cold problem. But if Dahlias get too wet they will rot off. This is why leaving them in the ground, even in a mild winter, is a bit of a gamble.

Sally as Pete said, you shouldn't be lifting Dahlia tubers for a few months yet. Wait for the frost to kill the topgrowth, then lift the tuber. The frost action tend to tell the Dahlia its time to go dormant. If you lift the tubers before the frost there is a dangerthat they might try to regrow, using up and wasting the energy stored in the tuber. I have done this before with tubers (not Dahlias but another type of tuber) and found them resprouting.

 

I don't know where *Dim* lives but loads of my dahlias survived last winter outdoors in the midlands. I only dig up my most favourite ones, now. This winter I'm going to dump a load of horse manure over them to keep them warm. They are so cheap it is worth the risk, anyway.

I divided all my new ones this spring, leaving about two growth points per division, and it has worked quite well.

 

a good UK internet site with dahlias:
The Collection

and another:
http://www.jrg-dahlias.co.uk/index.htm

 

I've seen that site dim. It's a good one but dangerous.......

 

YUP .... could work out very expensive .... there are loads that I like ...

however, when I'm not sure, I refer to this site for most perenials:
CGF:: Cotswold Garden Flowers

then I choose one that gets a high score (between 8 and 10)

 

I've seen that site before. I assume it is that persons own personal observations? Do you find it accurate??

 

I have mentioned the CGF site before - because I like it a lot. Yes its a personal view, but the guy doing it is Bob Brown, who is a Chelsea gold medalist and I have no doubt knows his stuff. The site has certainly put me onto some good plants.

 

Is rather go with someone's personal observations especially if they know their stuff rather than some site that just gives out information based on what someone else says. I will definitely bookmark that one. Thanks guys!