I don’t know any gardeners who casually develop dahlias. Their fireworks riot of shade has an intoxicating impact. You could begin with one dahlia, however earlier than it you have got torn out the roses, planted 5 hundred tubers and (in at the least one documented case), reworked an previous tennis court docket right into a fenced backyard to make room for extra flowers.
However dahlia devotees pay a value. In chilly climates (learn: the bottom freezes), dahlia tubers want to return out of the backyard if they’re to outlive the winter. Dig them up and retailer them within the basement, storage, or a protected shed—and dahlias will reward you subsequent summer season with extra monumental puffball blooms. It’s definitely worth the effort.
Listed below are step-by-step directions for how one can retailer dahlia tubers in winter:
Images by Mimi Giboin for Gardenista.
1. Watch for the primary frost.
Flowers will wilt, leaves will blacken, and dahlia stems will die again after the primary frost; you’ll realize it’s time to retailer tubers in a protected spot for the winter.
2. Dig up dahlias.
To dig up, first in the reduction of stalks to a top of two to three inches. Then begin a few foot away from the plant, loosening soil throughout the roots and digging deep sufficient (18 to 24 inches) to get your shovel beneath the dahlia to tease it out of the bottom.
Dig up one clump of tubers at a time and be mild; the tubers are fragile and break aside simply.
3. Rinse off dust.
