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Dahlias - overwinter or continue to grow in greenhouse?

jamesunsworthjamesunsworth Posts: 26
in The potting shed
Hi guys,

 I've got Dahlias in their first year, all blooming nicely.

 Do they need to undergo a dormant period as do Lillies, tulips etc or is it possible just to keep them potted up in the (unheated) greenhouse when the frost is on its way, ready to simply go back out next year?

 If this is possible, what are the positives and negatives associated with doing this?

Thanks for your time.

Posts

  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    An unheated g/h in Wigan may not be frost free, it wouldn't be in the hills above Sheffield.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    When the green has died right down you can bring them in a conservatory or spare bedroom for the winter.  I take mine out of pots, dry off well for about a week or two them wrap in layers of newspaper stored in a cardboard box in the bottom of a spare wardrobe, depends how many you’ve got and how much room you’ve got. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    edited July 2020
    I suspect if you were able to keep them frost free they would just carry on growing. But I don't think there's much benefit in it, you're going to have to keep watering them and checking for pests, and you're going to end up having them in there until you're ready to harden them off (which will be difficult with very large plants, that will probably be rather lanky and tired by then as well). They would probably need cutting back, which defeats the object somewhat. In all likelihood they'd actually be cut down by a severe frost after Christmas, when really low temps are more likely. At which point, you might as well not have bothered.
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • KeenOnGreenKeenOnGreen Posts: 1,831
    I keep ours in the pots, put them in the greenhouse, and stop watering for Winter.  We are in London, so don't get many hard frosts.  You could perhaps wrap the pots in fleece or bubble wrap, and put some of this lightly over the top (but be careful to keep some airflow, otherwise you might get the tubers might rot).  If it's a warm Spring, and temperatures in the greenhouse get warm, then I might give the pots a tiny bit of water, just so the tubers dont' dry out, but I only do this about once a month, and very sparingly).

    Have also tried the method that Lyn uses, and that works equally well for us, only I find it a bit more of a faff than just bunging the pots in the greenhouse.  
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