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Dahlia tubers
Robmarston
Posts: 338
in Plants
Hi, I've got quite a few dahlias in storage at the moment. Each year I bring them out and plant them. However, we'll be moving house this year so don't want to plant them in the garden but would rather take them with me for the new garden. Should I plant them all in pots (there are quite a lot of them) or can I keep them stored through the summer to plant out next year? If so, what's the best way to keep them healthy and dormant for this extended period of time? Any help greatly appreciated.
0
Posts
To minimise space taken, you could perhaps take cuttings from some of the larger tubers when they start sprouting and grow those on in pots to take with you. Some of my tubers (from 'giant hybrids') would need 10 inch or larger pots and would be a nightmare to move when growing - those plants get to 6 feet tall and are very brittle.
Hmm, that's my concern. I have 'shadowplay' that have grown considerably and last year when planted looked more like a shrub! My bishop of llandaff's have been divided pretty much every year so I have loads of them. I'm a bit greedy and don't really want to lose any, but I'm thinking I may have to plant some out and leave them, while potting and taking the others. I'm a bit of a sucker for a dahlia and I like the single ones and bought mystic illusion last year to add to my collection. What with the three above plus moonfire, I'm having to face the inevitability of losing some.
I am greedy too Rob and I know how you feel! I would pot up as many as I could, even if constrained, just to keep them going. Then I would go round family and friends and borrow a bit of garden to grow the remainder on, the deal being that I would provide them with cuttings when I took my tubers back.
try keeping them over the summer and they will sprout once warm, even if they are dry, and then you lose them.