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Dahlia tubers.

Bel2Bel2 Posts: 16
in Problem solving
I feel really embarrassed to admit this- but I didn't dig up my Bisop of Landaff tubers in the autumn.They were stunning last year and really would love to have them again but don't know what to do- leave them and hope they will have survived the winter, or dig them up now??
Please advise.
Bel.

Posts

  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    it depends on your soil . 
    If it's light and free draining they should be ok.
    If it's wet and heavy and cold they're probably dead already. 
    Devon.
  • Bel2Bel2 Posts: 16
    Shall I dig one up and see what it looks like?
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    Bel2 said:
    Shall I dig one up and see what it looks like?
    you've got nothing to lose
    Devon.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Maybe scrape away a bit of soil and have a poke at a tuber. If it's still firm then probably OK. I would leave them be for now in any case, because if they're already dead there's nothing much you can do anyway. My dahlias stay in and generally don't start sprouting until early May, at which point they seem to grow at a mile a minute. Having said that, we've just had the coldest winter in years so maybe this'll be the year they don't come back, in which case there's an opportunity to plant something different in their places.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • BiljeBilje Posts: 811
    I lift my tubers every year now as I lost loads a few years ago. Back then I have lifted them in winter early spring to see how they were doing. Then planted them in compost and stored frost free until the shoots appear. For me it's like serving slugs a banquet they munch the shoots beneath the garden soil before there's a glimmer of green above.
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