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I live in Michigan and need to dig up my Dahlias
The garage is too cold in the winter. How do I store these so I can plant them again next year? Thanks. |
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You should wait until a frost wilts the foliage, then you remove that and cut back the stems to about 6". This makes a good handle when pulling them out of the ground.
Let them dry in your garage after you knock off or wash off all the soil from the roots. Be gentle, the tubers are very loose in the clump. Then store them on a shelf or in boxes that you fill with peat moss or sand. Try to keep the clumps from touching one another. Dust with a fungicide. Store in your basement where it is cool and dark and dry. Re-plant the clumps in April next spring. |
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Thanks so much for answering. I will try your suggestions. Hopefully, I will have great results.
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Cookies, I'd suggest you wait for a few more replies. The poster giving you information has been banned from the forum...at least 'that' particular ID has been banned.
Wait around for a few more replies just to be safe. ------------------ "We all moan and groan about the loss of the quality of life through the destruction of our ecology, and yet every one of us, in our own little comfortable ways, contributes daily to that destruction. It's time now to awaken in each one of us the respect and attention our beloved Mother deserves." - Ed Asner, Actor |
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I guess I'm confused. Last year I waited until the first frost and the tubers had gotten soft--later they dried up and died. what exactly should I do?
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You need someplace to store those tubers that will stay around 45 degrees all winter. Here is a link to another way to store them.
http://rain.prohosting.com/midahlia/No_Fuss.htm Dr. Peters stores 300 to 400 tubers every year this way and his house was built with a special room to store Dahlia tubers. The sign of a good gardener is not a green thumb, it is brown knees. |
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16 paws, dahlia tubers do that, if they have received too much moisture and laid in water too long, they can get soft and then dry out.
Their the ones you throw away. Before storing you have to feel them, make sure they are firm, without cuts or abrasions. Cuts can cause disease or mold and mildew to enter the tuber. Peat moss or sand can keep the tubers dry but dusting with a fungicide is a good idea. Kimm is right, you have to store them where temperatures of 40º to 50º is kept constant. |
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Thanks for the links. My biggest problem is to decide when to dig the dahlias out of the ground. I guess I waited too long last year.
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16paws, you wait until the foliage is hit with a hard frost. That's your cue to dig them up.
But be careful, use a garden fork and dig outside the area you know the tubers are because now there's more of them. Leave 6" on the stem, the rest you cut off, when you pull them up. Let them dry for a day or so and store them in the cool, dry place either on a shelf or in boxes of sand or vermiculite or peat moss and dust with a fungicide. Be careful when you pull them up because the clump contains more tubers now and they are easily knocked off. |
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Where do you get the fungicide to "dust" on the dahlias tubers? I've checked Lowe's Home Depot and no one knows what I'm talking about. ???
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What you need to look for is sulfur. It comes in a bag or box and is available at both the Lowes and Home Depot around here, as well as good garden shops. What I have found is that the clerks at the big box stores really seldom know enough about gardening to be of much help.
The sign of a good gardener is not a green thumb, it is brown knees. |
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Hi Cookies, I live in Northern Michigan and have had Dahlias for several years. Matter of fact , I just dug mine up this last weekend. The best way for our zones is this: Wait till the turn black ( from frost ) then trim the tops off. Dig them ..dont pull them out. And just knock the dirt off them. store them in bushel baskets or waterevr you have in your basement. Next Spring ( End of May ) replant.
Also , if you plant the tubes sideways you will get a much bushier plant. |
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