Dahlias

Thanks Billy. Might dig a couple up tomorrow - there are some I don't want to keep anyway.


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I tend to leave my dahlias in the ground, plant deep and mulch after cutting down, things have to take their chance with me.

 

I'm going to try that with a few this year, I dug up over 30 last year and it was hard work!

 

Hi @JackJJW , I plant Tulips up to late November , some say first half of December but I never push it so far in the year. I am planning to lift some Dahlias in two weeks while it so mild , some I will let go . I'll also lift and store my trailing Begonias and Cannas . Then in go my Tulip bulbs . I do like the lifting and replanting time off year , but it is bloomin' hard work and the weather ( and wife ) plays havoc with most plans !

Hello @Billybell , I have heard this before but why leave Dahlia tubers upside down too drain ?
I always find Dahlia tubers a rather complicated piece of kit , never too sure with their bagpipe appearance what is doing what

 

Thanks @HarryS I've planted lots of my tulip bulbs now but have reserved some to plonk in where the Dahlias are in a few weeks time as you say.

I'm going to grow less of the giant ones next year, they're just too hard work with staking and flopping.

But they do pump out a lot of flowers!

Here are some from dead heading today.


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Hi Harry,

You leave Dahlias upside down for all the water to drain out of them as they have hollow stems and any moisture left in can cause rot in the tubers.

The " bagpipe " appearance is the tubers. These are storage organs for next year, basically they are swollen stems/roots. Unike bulbs or corms they don't hold any flowers etc for next year. Therefore even a small tuber can grow and flower next year whereas a small Lily or Narcissus bulb for example would need growing on for another year so they can form next years flowers inside them.

 

This why I prefer the Bishop series of Dahlias (Bishop Of York is very good) they grow to about 18 inches high and you don't have to stake them......wonderful flowers as well.

 

I grew Bishops Children from seed two years ago , and from the saved corms this year . Lovely flowers As you say they are just medium height and don't need staking . Any other tips anyone besides the Bishop of York ?

 

Yeah. I do love them, but I also like the waterlily and decorative flower types :-/

 

Hi Anthony,

I've now lifted my Dahlias and brushed off a lot of the mud. But they still have lots of mud welded onto them. There seems to be conflicting advice - to wash or not to wash online. What would you recommend?

I can't decide what to do... :-/

Jack

 

I'm no Dahlia expert but have dozens of Dahlia corms which are over 20 years old. I lift them, cut down the stems to about 3 to 4 inches and store them upside down to "drain" for a while with as much soil brushed off them without damaging/skinning the corms. After a couple of weeks what's left of the soil on the tubers should be quite easy to remove (most of it) once dried. In all the years I've had them I haven't ever washed the corms and now (used to) don't even bother with flowers of sulphur or storing the corms in news paper. I leave them unwrapped in cardboard boxes in a frost free place with plenty of air circulation and they are fine. What I do do tho is check the corms once lifted for any iffy (rotten or even semi soft) corms and remove them before storing. If I have any doubt about a corm it's removed. Like the saying about 1 bad Apple, best get rid than risk it affecting the rest. I check the corms about end of January and again if any are looking less than healthy I remove them. Works for me but as I say I'm no expert. All I will add is that Dahlia corms aren't so very different from Potatoes so I've been told. I would 100% guarantee that washed Potatoes do not keep as well as dirty ones. My neighbouring farmer grows spuds and confirmed this.

 

Thanks Silu, that is super helpful! I love when someone who's actually grown stuff explains what they've done, it can be a lot easier to understand than some of the guides online.

I've noticed that some of the smaller tubers are a little bit soft already, not rotten, just can be squeezed. But I have got them inside with central heating (it's been two days inside).

Is that normal or is it better to get rid of those ones?

I'll do as you say and not worry about the mud too much, thank you.

 

Re the soft ones @JackJJW I'd keep an eye on them. If they go really soft and squidgy then lop off. Sometimes corms can go soft due to lack of moisture. Indeed when I am going to start them off again mid/late Spring I'll dump all the corms in a water butt for a few hours to plump up before planting them. Like with potatoes, osmosis takes place. I'd store them in a cool dry place. Mine go on top of a wardrobe in a spare room. As long as the corms don't freeze they don't need /better not to store them anywhere warm over winter. Often things are made more complicated than they really are! If your corms were healthy and firm when you lifted them and you avoid them being frozen between now and next Spring you'll be unlucky if they don't all sprout into action again for you.

 

Great thank you. I've just put most of them into the shed in dry vermiculite with a little slightly damp (not wet) compost. Hopefully that is ok. I will check again in a week or so just in case with the soft ones. It's a bit early but the heating seems to have dried them quickly and good to get them somewhere cooler.

I'm starting to think our little flat isn't big enough for Dahlia storage but we'll see next spring there is one Dahlia in particular I don't want to lose as it was a strange version of a particular type and absolutely beautiful.


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I'm torn about keeping mine, they didn't do that well this summer so I've been tempted to get rid. Think I will mulch some in the ground and dig up just a few. The greenhouse is pretty full so not much room.
That said I have ordered some from the national collection for next year. The problem is in my experience dahlias don't do well in pots but planting/digging is a faff.