EasyBloom Forum

I had planted 3 dahlia bulbs in my front little garden area outside this past spring. One never even came up, and another grew almost a foot out of the ground but never flowered. The 3rd definitely took its time but eventually produced 2 flowers only pretty recently (probably a month ago). I heard that you can dig up the bulbs and keep them to plant again the next year. Do I just dip up the whole plant? Cut the stalk off the 2 that grew? Even go after the one that didn't come up at all? How do I store them for the winter: in dirt in pots or just place the bulbs in a plastic bag and leave in the basement? Thanks, you wisdom is always appreciated. Kadra

Hello Kadra, In regards to your Dahlias, yes you should definitely dig up the bulbs to store for the winter months. It is very important that the bulbs are ready to be dug, and that is when the plants are totally dead from either the first hard frost of the year or when you cut them back to the ground (if you don’t get a frost). At that point wait about two more weeks and your bulbs should be ready for being dug up for the season. If they are dug up too soon the bulbs will not make it through the winter and will rot. Now once they are ready to be dug up and be stored, you really want to have the right environment to ensure their survival over the winter. I’m pretty positive that your tuber that never grew is probably dead and not viable, but you may want to dig it up to see for yourself. You’re other plant’s tubers are definitely viable and may have even divided into multiple bulbs that you may need to split up after you dig them up. Once dug from the ground go ahead and rinse off any excess soil that could be accumulated on the bulbs, and allow the clean bulbs to dry for about 24 hours. If the tubers have multiplied, they will all be attached to a main crown that will need to be divided so an eye (future bud for growth) is left attached to each tuber….use a very sharp knife when dong this process as any torn tissue is subject for potential rot. Now take the separated tubers and lay them not touching each other in a box or fruit tray lined with a thick layer of wood shavings (animal bedding) or just plain sawdust and cover them with another layer of the wood shavings (about a couple of inches). Now store them in a spot where they will remain in the dark and be in a temperature of around 40 to 50 degrees F. Check them every month or so and make sure none are showing signs of shriveling or rotting. Discard any tubers that are displaying this tendency. They will be ready to plant again as soon as the threat of frost has passed in the spring time. Best ~ Ian Hall

I'm wondering what you consider to be a hard frost? We have already had some nights with some frost but the temperature has probably gotten down to 39 at the lowest so far. Would it be detrimental to just cut them back myself now instead of waiting for the hard frost? Will that change the outcome of the bulbs?

Hello Kadra, A hard frost is generally when the air temperature gets under the freezing point for at least a couple of hours. The best way to determine if you had a hard frost is that your ground will actually be hard from the freezing. So I would wait until this happens and the plants die back completely. If you want to quicken up the process you can cut your plants back to the ground. I would only do this if the plants look completely spent. So remember whether you cut the plants back or they freeze back wait a couple of weeks to lift the bulbs...as they will be winter ready at this point. Thanks Kadra, I hope this information is helpful for you! Best ~ Ian