The Dirt on Dahlias

A well stocked garden really can make a difference to the amount of buyers who find your house appealing. A cared-for garden can indicate a cared-for house, and it also adds to the curb appeal of your home. For a really eye-stopping front yard, you cannot beat the beautiful and vividly colored dahlia.

These blooms need the minimum of care and produce an 'exhibition-type' display even for the novice gardener. Some people feel intimidated by the idea of having to store the dahlia over the winter.

Storing tubers (another word for the roots of the dahlia) is a very simple - and almost foolproof - procedure. In fact, the dirt on dahlias is to keep the dirt off dahlias, and here is how.

Dahlias will flower all through the summer until the first frost blackens the blooms. This is when you know it is time to lift the dahlia from out of your garden.

Do not leave it too long after this as it is not recommended to wait until the stem has also blackened. Using a garden fork, simply dig up the root and lay it in your garage or greenhouse out of the way of further frosts.

If you have many dahlias of the same color and type and you wish to leave some of them in the soil over the winter months, then cover the soil with mulch, straw or an old rug or blanket to protect them from any severe frost.

If you follow this route, the plants may develop into large clumps causing an overabundance of new shoots in the Spring. If this happens, the plant is best lifted and divided, before re-planting in the spring. However, in milder climates, storing them in your garden will save you from having to find the space to store them in your greenhouse.

For those special blooms that can't be risked, then lifting and storing is the safe way. Tubers must be kept dry and every dahlia grower has their own method of storing their own blooms over the winter.

Some people dig up the tubers and shake off the soil before allowing the residual soil to dry off a little from the root. Then they brush off the residual soil and wash the tuber in water with a small splash of bleach in. This ensures no bacteria are stored away with the tuber. After being thoroughly dried, they are ready for storing.

Others dig up the tubers and place on the greenhouse bench until the surface moisture has dried out before the storing process is initiated. This surface soil is then brushed off.

Storing is another personal choice, as there are several methods, but the main thing is that the tubers must not freeze or get wet - or too dry causing them to shrivel up and die.

Most growers place their tubers in a box and separate and cover them with peat or vermiculite. The box can be kept in a cold greenhouse but it is best if you cover the box with a blanket or straw to stop frost from affecting them. It is recommended that you regularly inspect them for rotting (and remove rotting tubers from box).

Once again, if you have limited space and also have many dahlias that are of the same type, tubers can also be planted in their pots and planted in the ground still in their pots. The tubers - called pot tubers - will be restricted in their growth (by the pots) and can also be lifted and stored in their pots. Experienced gardeners find these are the best for propagating in the spring.

Once spring arrives, tubers can be checked for the time that they have 'started into growth' and then they can be divided up and/or re-planted into the garden.

Dahlias do not like frost and most gardeners have to wait until late May to ensure their blooms will be safe from it. Plant tubers in rich, well drained soil and stake with three canes formed into a teepee to protect the new shoots against wind breakage.

Once the blooms start to appear, pinch out the main bloom to encourage side shoots. Picking off the deadheads ensures that the blooms will keep coming.