At present I find dahlias to have the most amount fuss, I only grew them for the first time last year. Dig them up, don't dig them, don't let them get too wet or dry, water them, don't water them, put them on heat or not 😀
If you find them too much fuss, don't bother?? Seemples. Gardening shouldn't be a chore.
I prefer not to quit at the first few attempts, wouldn't do or learn anything with that approach.
I admire your tenacity. Anything for an easy life is my motto. Basically, if you've light free draining soil, leave them in. I lift mine and just sit them side by side rammed closely, in the unheated polytunnel , no covering, not wrapping, no fuss. When I see any of them shooting, I lift those and pot them up. If they die over the winter, I'm not overly fussed. ( good excuse to buy something different )
At present I find dahlias to have the most amount fuss, I only grew them for the first time last year. Dig them up, don't dig them, don't let them get too wet or dry, water them, don't water them, put them on heat or not 😀
If you find them too much fuss, don't bother?? Seemples. Gardening shouldn't be a chore.
I prefer not to quit at the first few attempts, wouldn't do or learn anything with that approach.
I admire your tenacity. Anything for an easy life is my motto. Basically, if you've light free draining soil, leave them in. I lift mine and just sit them side by side rammed closely, in the unheated polytunnel , no covering, not wrapping, no fuss. When I see any of them shooting, I lift those and pot them up. If they die over the winter, I'm not overly fussed. ( good excuse to buy something different )
I think they are worth the effort at least for now,my hope is that with experience they become a doddle. I think it's just a bit of beginners anxiety at the moment owing to lack of experience and likely over analysing 🤔
Last year I bought a half price decicated tuber from wilko and didn't hold out much hope, but it grew well. I also bought some 'moonfire' in pots and some red dahlias. So all of these I have overwintered in boxes of coir and used compost and just checked on them, spritzed them when they seemed to be drying.
I bought some ' wishes and dreams' tubers too. I love the look of the dark foliage single types and hope they come good 😉
You'll find your own way of dealing with them that suits you. You're right about "beginners' Anxiety" . We've all been there, ( and return when we try something new )
I potted all my tubers, around a dozen, 2 weeks ago, so I've given them all a little drink now but no more than that.
It's more the new, smaller ones I'm concerned about potentially turning to mush. A few of last years turned out pretty big so there's always a decent amount in reserve but so many new ones can be piddly little things.
I followed Sarah Raven’s advice to pot up the tubers, water them in, then sit them in a tray of damp gravel so they can take up water as they need, then put them in the poly and forgot about them.That seems to have worked, they sprouted really quickly, I now have 8 out of 13 already peeking out.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
I found some shrivelled little tubers at the back of my indoor plastic greenhouse. I put them in a tray of damp compost, popped them on the propagator and they are shooting now. I tend to agree with Hostafan on this one, but I was quite precious about them in the past, wrapping and leaving them in a dark wardrobe. I like to take some cuttings from the shoots too.
It's tricky. I have mine outside, under fleece and covered to protect over winter from rain. We are still getting frosts, but I think they will be shooting. I guess I should take off the rain cover and keep the fleece on ..... Is that a good idea? If they have good load of green shoots (as it's been so mild) the tuber shouldn't have a threat of rotting now, right? (I've lost loads to rot over the years).
Depends where you live of course. A few years ago, I tried lifting them, didnt work, 2018, I read pot them up, cover to exclude light for 10 days, after which they were really sprouting, then I gave them a little water. They were incredible, that year, I left some lifted some. Last year no where near such a good show. I discovered from a couple of neighbours, they dont bother to lift. So last year I covered them with mulch, and put a hanging basket over the top. The ones in pots are not sprouting as yet. I bought some new ones just in case. Cheap as chips, £1 each Aldi,Wilko, and local place. We are in the SE near the South Downs, 10 miles (by car) from the sea.
Each year I try a different method to see what is best. Various results but if I leave them in the ground, the slugs eat the new shoots. This winter I had the tubers wrapped in newspaper and kept them in the garage. I took them out, inspected for damage etc and put them in pots in a sheltered place a few weeks ago. Some are now shooting and others haven't. As I was curious, I took the ones that haven't shown growth out of their pots to see if they had done anything and found they are all putting out roots. I will plant in the ground when they have established themselves. That seemed to work well last year.
A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all it teaches entire trust.
Timing is tricky. Mine in the ground are protected over winter, although risk of rot is low because rainfall is low at that time. However, we had such a gloriously warm weather last month two started sprouting so I took their hats off and gave them a water. Both were caught by frost two nights ago and have gone black. There is still some fresh green growth underneath, so I have cut off the rotted leaves and am putting their hats back on overnight and hoping they come through. The ‘hats’ are those plastic basket things that clip on plant pots, stuffed with straw, I hollowed out a bit of the straw stuffing so as not to squish the new shoots.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
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Anything for an easy life is my motto. Basically, if you've light free draining soil, leave them in.
I lift mine and just sit them side by side rammed closely, in the unheated polytunnel , no covering, not wrapping, no fuss.
When I see any of them shooting, I lift those and pot them up. If they die over the winter, I'm not overly fussed. ( good excuse to buy something different )
Last year I bought a half price decicated tuber from wilko and didn't hold out much hope, but it grew well. I also bought some 'moonfire' in pots and some red dahlias.
So all of these I have overwintered in boxes of coir and used compost and just checked on them, spritzed them when they seemed to be drying.
I bought some ' wishes and dreams' tubers too. I love the look of the dark foliage single types and hope they come good 😉
You're right about "beginners' Anxiety" . We've all been there, ( and return when we try something new )
It's more the new, smaller ones I'm concerned about potentially turning to mush. A few of last years turned out pretty big so there's always a decent amount in reserve but so many new ones can be piddly little things.