Help with Dahlia tubers

Hello,

I could use some advice regarding some Dahlia tubers I have had overwintering in my dad's shed. I checked on them yesterday and they are all shrivelled up and feel papery to the touch. On some of the tubers I can feel something solid inside them. Should I put them in water to try and revive them or are they past saving?

 

I put mine in trays with a little multi-purpose compost under them, and then almost cover them (some tubers are completely under, some have just a little of the tuber showing - you can probably cover them completely, but don't bury them deep, I am trying to avoid getting the "stalk" damp).

I use compost that is "just moist". Squeeze it tightly in you hand/fist. If it sticks together as a ball its too wet. It should "just" fall apart, or "not quite" fall apart, but then fall apart if you just touch it.

I stick mine on top of the boiler so they get some bottom heat when the boiler is on (airing cupboard would do / might be better), and then after a couple of weeks when the shoots start to appear from the old stalk I move them to the frost-free conservatory (this time of year it doesn't fall much below 10C even on cold nights)

I expect my tubers to be "fat, plump and hard" when I get them out of storage, so yours may have had-it, but worth trying to start them off I reckon

 

Agree with all Kristen had said , they should be plump but they are worth trying .. You can get some reasonable tubers in wilcos if you are not after show varieties , But beware as even some of them are dried out .so check each one carefully before buying . Then treat as Kristen says .. Best of luck .
I have had mine growing a while now and have taken cuttings to bulk up my plants .

 

I forgot to lift mine at the end of 2010 until well into the winter about December time. I found them by accident when burying one of my Chinchillas. I had one Bishop and two Moonfire. The tubers were almost rotten but there were some half decent so i blasted all the dirt off with a hosepipe, dried them out on a radiator for a few days, then put them into self-seal sandwhich bags packed full of shredded paper and lots of air holes. I planted them into pots early Spring last year and they came up better than the previous year. When i lifted them on time last year about October / November time, the tubers had multiplied about four-fold. I overwintered them the same way as the previous year, potted them up 3 weeks ago and put them onto the kitchen windowsill and they're already about 8 inches tall with multiple shoots. The moral of this story for weas3l is, don't give up, pot them up and see what happens - you've nothing to lose. Oh i forgot to mention, i think the liquid Seaweed once a week probably helped.