Sing it Frankie…

And now the end is near, it’s time to face the final curtain,
My friend, I’ll say it clear, I’ll state my case, of which I’m certain
All these months they’ve served us well but now it’s time
To store our Dahlia’s awayyyyy!!!!!

As fall comes a calling, we know we did it our way and worst of all we know that the end is near. We must enjoy the last few days of these beautiful blossoms as soon it will be time to prepare them for the next season.

Frostay!!!

We need the frost! To ensure you get the healthiest tubers for the next season, wait until the first frost. The frost will effectively kill the plant above ground (the foliage will turn black).

Don’t dig them up yet!. Leave the tubers in the ground for at least 1-2 weeks before you dig them up. During this time the tubers will be preparing for hibernation.
Just like a bear eats it’s fill before going to sleep for the winter, during this time the tubers will be storing energy for their hibernation.

Frostay! — After the frost is gone, I can no longer bloom on

Dig It!!!

At the end of the season, if you want to preserve your Dahlia’s tubers, it requires work, there is no two ways about it.
Digging up your Dahlia tubers are optional, some simply purchase new tubers every year. Depending on how many you have, that can be a very costly venture.

In some areas they can last through the winter. Here in Quebec, the hardness zone goes from 3a to 5b, the winters are cold and the tubers won’t survive.
They are hardy in zones 8 to 10 and in zone 7 and can survive with a thick layer of protective mulch.

***In the process of digging up the tuber you may damage the tubers. Fear not, providing the tubers still have the collar (the base of the stem), there is the possibility of it having an eye. These tubers are still capable of producing perfectly good plants for the next season.

When I plant my dahlia’s in the spring, I usually have the names on a spike next to each plant. In the fall when we are preparing them for storage, some of these labels may have been misplace/move or just lost these labels.

I have quite few plants and I like knowing which is which for the next season. To avoid mix ups, I use masking tape, or any other method you choose, to label each plant as in the image below. The ink is water proof and tape stays on as I wash the dirt of the tubers and prepare them for storage.

Split It!!!

I use to split my tubers in the spring, now I do it in the fall once I’ve dug them up and washed them off. I find them easier to work with in the fall. They can be a little dryer in in the spring time.
Before splitting your tubers look for the eyes, they tend to stick out a bit on the tuber. When cleaning up the tuber make sure that you have eye(s) on the the collar (base of the stem) of the pieces you separate. The new shoots will grow from these eye, no eye, no plant.

In the fall, as they are preparing for hibernation, the eyes are not always obvious. If you’re not sure about the eyes. Don’t worry about it. Simply store the tubers as is and split them in the spring.
Trim around the head, remove all excess roots from the tuber. Some tubers may be very long, it’s OK to cut away some of the bottom part of the tuber. Wash the tubers and let them dry in an open area. Before storing some treat the tubers with fungicide.

Once dried this would be good time to label your tubers. You can write directly on the tubers with a permanent marker. Be aware that if the tubers shrivel while in storage, it may become impossible to read.

Store It!!!

Dahlia gardeners have their own methods of storing their tubers. Tubers can be stored in sphagnum peat moss, sawdust, wood chips/shavings, paper bags, newspaper lined boxes, vermiculite etc….
My method of choice has been paper bags. I tried plastic wrap as a storage option. I was a bit skeptical about this method because I thought the plastic would cause tuber rot but I was pleasantly surprised to see that the tubers survived.
I was curious about the other methods, so I did store most in paper bags but I also decided to try other methods. I tried the plastic wrap, wood shavings and popcorn. They all worked, I actually liked the popcorn and the wood chips. It seems the tuber was healthy and there was no rot or fungus on the tuber.

Vermiculite is also a great way to store your tubers. I’ve taken a liking to this method. My Dahlia dealer stores his in vermiculite and his tubers are always firm and healthy. He also has a well regulated refrigerated storage space for his tubers.
When storing my tubers in plastic wrap, I poked little holes in the wrap, so that moisture will have a way out. If not the tubers are likely to rot.
Since I am a bit paranoid about losing my babies, I like store them in different manners. For example, after I split my tubers, I store one with my usual paper bag method, the other with the plastic wrap method and if I have a third, I’ll store it in vermiculite. I store my tubers in a cool dark place. You can also store in crawl spaces (unheated).

***If the tubers become too hot, they will rot.

Check on the tubers over the winter. If you notice any drying out, simply spritz with a bit of water (using a spray bottle) and return to storage. The humidity should be medium-high, this will prevent the tubers from drying out.