So many people have requested a dahlia storage video, so here is Part One. This video will tell you what you need to know now as the season winds down: When to dig your dahlia tubers, what you should do before you dig and what you’ll need for storing when it’s time.
See Part 2 here: https://youtu.be/n79tKLe9AdI
Dahlia tour 2019: https://youtu.be/sjiPUCfQ4Mw
#Dahlias #gardening #TheImpatientGardener
Dahlia storing stuff I use (feel free to get creative and do what works for you):
Plastic zip labels: https://amzn.to/2oNdhlE
Collapsible plastic crates: https://amzn.to/32YNeXq
Wood shavings for storage: https://amzn.to/31LJzw3
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My name is Erin and I love sharing inspiration and information with real-life gardeners. I live and garden in southeastern Wisconsin, zone 5.
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32 Comments
Interesting 🧐! Years back, I was determined to save my bulbs, I waited for the frost, when I went out to cut them back, the water in the stalks were frozen, and the tuber was mushy! So the next year, I cut my dahlias before frost, some sprouted in spring but most didn’t😪. I stopped saving them! You’re giving me inspiration Erin👍 , going to try again next year🙏
Thank you! This is my first year with dahlias so this is perfect timing! I love all your videos! ❤️
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
Zone 5 ny and we get so much rain this time of year so I cut stems and dig same day otherwise they’ll turn to mush. I let them dry on my unheated basement floor on newspaper, then pack them in cardboard with peat moss and newspaper around and lightly mist a couple times throughout winter. Labeling tips are great, esp when you have a lot of varieties it starts to get even more important 😅
You do an excellent job explaining things. I don’t have dahlias but you explained the process you use so well, I feel confident I could do this.
Last year I dug up my tubers, but never covered them with anything. Most got too dry, but I did plant probably 3 varieties and they still produced. I think I'll do better this year, learning along the way. I have sooo enjoyed them and all the arrangements that I am wanting to keep trying. With that experience I feel they were real forgiving to me, in Boise, Idaho (zone 6 or so).
Hello. I am wondering if you use any fungicide like Sulfur on Dahlia tubers before storing them for winter.
I use painters tape to label my dahlias.
Erin, I love watching your videos because I feel like I am talking to a friend or neighbor about gardening. You keep it real with your consideration of time, cost, and amount of work. You are a practical gardener and your tips have been most helpful! I went on a Newport, RI garden tour this summer and one home was all dahlias…gorgeous. I have always thought about growing them but then decided it was too complicated and fussy. You have changed my mind! Your no-nonsense practical tips seem doable -so I'm going for it. Thanks! Ellen from New England
Help! We've gotten so much rain here that my dahlias are standing in water! They are wilting and I am afraid they will rot. If I dig them now, before a frost, will I get flowers next year?
I dug mine up this weekend even though they wern't black and we haven't had an official hard frost. I just couldn't deal with the floppyness and messiness out in the beds any longer. It was a beautiful 60 degree fall day and I went to town doing fall cleanup. I have them out on the walkway getting rain to wash the rest of the dirt off, then planned on letting them dry out. I do have a milk crate i can put them in, and move them to a covered area outside to finish drying out. Do you think i've ruined them?
I stored a bunch of tubers last winter (zone 5) and I put them in vented boxes in wood shavings, in a cool area in the basement… in May I brought them out of storage and they were all dry and shriveled up, desiccated and sad looking. What do you do (if anything) all winter long… should you check on them and mist them, or try to retain their plumpness through the winter? I lost 80% of my tubers… they just never grew again.
I have an unheated, attached garage (in Wisconsin). The basement is heated and too hot. Is the garage my best bet? I'm thinking of putting them by the wall that is shared with the house. I have loved my dahlias this year and would like to have them again next summer.
Hi, may we tag you in our upcoming video?
When I lived in Oregon, I had huge dahlia gardens. Love them, since moving to Ohio I have not done another garden of them.
My dahlias turned black from frost. I didn’t know at the time that I should leave them in the ground for a couple weeks yet. Will they be ok?
When is part 2 coming? Thanks for sharing your knowledge. It is appreciated.
So excited found your channel via Garden Answer — Laura (love her). I recently visited central WI. Hello from up here in NH. This video is sooo timely; I'm digging my dahlias now.
Anyone have suggestions on where to buy dahlias looking for a good supplier.
i just watched your video mine never overwintered in garage but i learned from you i guess i dug them up to early
I no longer have a basement. If I have just a couple dahlias, could I store them in the fridge drawer?
Amy I love your videos- they are full of really useful info and down to earth suggestions. Last year- my first with dahlias- did the peat moss thing with not great results – so I had thought that I would try the vermiculite but after watching your video I am excited to try shavings. Love your work – your gardens look amazing
Sorry- Meant to type Erin not Amy-
I just read an article that said dahlias can change color over time, Cafe au Lait being one of the most common varieties to do so. Maybe that's what happened to yours?
See
Thank you for this video. I had a wonderful Fall enjoying the few dahlias I have space for; there were so many and the flowers were huge. Really lucky this year, I'll use your advice to set myself up for more dahlias next year.
Have no need to here. Ours have been in the ground now for 25yrs and all I do is make a heavy mulch of farmyard manure in the autumn. They have produced a fantatsic hosw each year.
Yes, we do not get the heavy ground frosts amd if the top one inch is frozen that is unusual, so if you ahve the same conditions then leave them in and cover them in muck.
I planted dahlia for the very first time this year and fell in love with it. I want to save the tubers this fall. My basement is heated 65F (18C). I also have a cold room in my basement which is not heated at all so temperature in that room is around 38F to 50F (3C to 10C). Is it ok to store the tubers in the cold room or is it better in the heated basement? I'm in Toronto, Canada (zone 5b).
@theimpatientgardener I know this is a whacky question but is it possible to store the tubers in a fridge? My basement is too warm and my garage is too cold. I’ve also heard that you can wrap them in Saran Wrap and then store them. What do you think of that? I’m in Michigan zone 6a and it gets very dry here in the winters.
Thank you!!
Do i keep watering the plant till I dig up? It is almost nov and zone 7 or less here.
Decided I would like to store my dahlia tubers this fall. This series is incredibly helpful! Thank you, The Impatient Gardener!
I do use large Tupperware containers but do not seal these boxes. I do not wash the tubers thoroughly. Having been fussy with washing in the past, using peroxide, I had more trouble with disease and drying. One year I realized that the tubers left in the pots of tender trees brought inside, lasted throughout the winter in zone 5b. So now I get fresh potting soil, lay the tubers out after most of the dirt is brushed off, dump the soil onto them, keep the lid cracked for air flow, check on them once a month, spritz and touch wood, near to perfect storage. I slip the tubers back in the ground early to mid April, even though we may have two or three snowfalls after. Every climate is different so you must think about house temp as well.