Out of the Cellar
The dahlia tubers came out of the cellar last week and were potted up in containers and put on the back porch to start sprouting. The porch is enclosed and stays much warmer than outside, this will give them a toasty spot to start sprouting and get a head start on the season. My tubers survived wonderfully in the root cellar. I dug them in late fall and tucked them into large totes filled with wood shavings. I’m happy with the results, it was my first time ever growing dahlias and the first time overwintering the tubers in the basement.
The only problem with these tubers is that they are so much larger than the new tubers I bought, I had to get out some very large containers to pot them up. Next year I’ll experiment with planting them directly in the garden to see if they bloom at the same time as the potted ones. I’m always happy to give plants a boost if it’s beneficial, but if it’s not I can use that time for something else.
Do you grow dahlias? Do they benefit from being potted up early?
Filed under Around the Garden, Flowers | Comments (2)
I do grow dahlias from seed but we don’t have to lift them for the winter here. However, as we are planning to move to New England in several years I’ll have to start!
to Annie's comment
I never pre-pot them. I just plant directly into the garden in May.
to JessB's comment