Dahlia Tubers

Thanks for the advice!

 

How do I stop them falling apart..? Each time I look into the bag, there's loose tubers(?).

 

The one ive just bought say plant in feb ? i got 6 tubers ..erwin? instructions basically say plonk them in the ground and easy peasy x but for £1.99 ya cant expect real details x

 

Mine also says Feb, but I've been told to wait til May by a few people on here.. all very confusing. If it's hot next week, as predicted, I'll just put them in then and chance it.

 

im not sure where mine are going yet so i aint rushing but there are that many diff dahlias i suppose they all have diff needs,i really dont want to be digging up bulbs next autumn to store cos il forget where i put them i think u need and time to love dahlias to care for them properly so im not investing in too many this yr, i have other projects in the planning but i will do what i can do without neglect x they are gorgeous xx

 

I only had one last year, now I have 11 (cost me £6 for them) so I'll leave them in the ground.

Was pretty easy last year, just left it to do its own thing and it was probably the best looking plant in my garden by a mile.

Still worried about the bulbs falling off the main tuber, though..

 

Be careful that the little fat tubers don't break off the main stem, they are often only held on by a thin stem. The tubers on their own won't grow, they need the shoots too, and the shoots are on the main stem (the shoots / "eyes" are not on the tubers themselves - unlike e.g. potatoes which do grow from just a tuber).

To stop them falling apart plant them! gently!! Get a pot of sufficient diameter, put some multi purpose (or similar) compost in it, place the "plant" gently on top arranging the tubers in a radial fashion as best you can without breaking them off, and cover with some more compost. The original stalk / stem of the plant should be just poking out of the surface.

Don't add much water - the compost being barely moist is enough (we don't want to encourage rot whilst temperatures are still low, and the plant is not in active growth).

Don't provide too much heat, so long as they are frost free and get some heat they will be fine - so a greenhouse that doesn't actually fall below 0C will be fine, a garage too although that may not have much heat on sunny days, so it will take longer for them to spring into life. Get them into the light once they have sprouted (e.g. if they are in the garage).

"If it's hot next week, as predicted, I'll just put them in then and chance it."

If you plant them and they have greenery about the ground and then there is a frost it will be killed. The plant will then throw up new growth, but much of its energy will have been used up, so the second shoots will be much weaker. If you can put straw over them, or similar, to keep the frost off that will be OK. But ... these are small tubers and planted outside will not start into growth for sometime (assuming they don't rot) and will have a shorter growing season as a result, and will be less impressive.

I've never seen tubers for sale that are really fat and "juicy", what you get is the rather pathetic tubers from a cutting taken late on, and they are pretty weedy. By comparison the tubers I have stored from last year, from plants that I grew all season, are massive. You'll have massive tubers like that after the first year too, and they will be much more able to withstand some hardship!

For smaller bought-in tubers I recommend you start them off in pots, give them some TLC, plant out after last frost, and then they will have a flying start, make much bigger plants, flower earlier, and have a much longer season to bulk-up their tubers so you can successfully store them for the following year :thumb:

 

Thanks a lot, Kristen. I'll crack on with that tomorrow

 

If you've left last years in the ground keep an eye out for when their shoots come above the ground, and be prepared to protect them if we get any late frosts. Some horticultural fleece chucked over them should be sufficient (or straw / dry leaves / bracken etc.)

 

I took mine out! Only had one, but the quality in the tuber from last year and the new ones is quite huge.. quite intact, too

 

Yes, I don't know why home-grown are so much more impressive than what one buys. The tubers on the ones I have kept are really securely attached to the original stem, whereas whenever I buy new ones they always seem to feel like they are going to fall to bits!

 

Not a good feeling, I'll probably end up making them rot or something because of them falling to bits :(

 

I love Dahlias,

I grew up surrounded by Dahlias, and helped to weed my parents garden. We took Dahlias to school and church.

I bought some belters from the cheap box at Homebase last year.

I put tubers in a bucket, then tempory put a washing up bowl over them so they would'nt get wet.

I looked today and had to pot it up it had a one inch pink shoot.

:yess::yess:

This year I am trying Wikies Dahlias.

 

My plan with dahlias is to spray the tubers occasionally with water thro' the winter to maintain thei 'plumpness'. Just this month I bed them in compost and spray more regularly to encourage shoots to appear from which you can take cuttings.

Dahlias are late flowering so there is no rush needed.

Best of luck

 

Got 9 mixed tubers for £2.97 from Home & Bargains today probably use them in my sister's garden, hopefully they turn out alright.