Begonia and dahlia bounty
My local parks department was clearing the bedding out and I asked if I could recycle some of it. They were delighted that it wouldn't be going to waste but were over generous.
I now have hundreds of begonia and dahlias to tend to this weekend. The dahlias were given to me with the tops wrung off so I have hosed them off and they are now upside down on the greenhouse bench to dry. The begonias were given to me as complete plants in sizeable plugs of topsoil and are stacked as if growing under the greenhouse bench.
Should I remove the earth and top growth from the begonia tubers now or allow them to die back a but first? I am thinking of how I allow my daffodils etc. to die back naturally to build up the bulb. Does this happen with tubers and how long should I leave the dahlias before packing them away?
All advice gratefully received.
Posts
Thank you Verdun. I usually lift mine much later in the year and allow to die back naturally before packing away but there are so many and they are very wet so I had hoped it would be OK to remove the soil and stems and just let the tubers dry off. Guess I'll have to hope for some breezy sunny weather and bring them out of the greenhouse to allow air circulation.
I know Monty hates them but at this time of year they give a reliable blast of colour when almost everything else is on the way out.
"...hundreds of begonias and dahlias..."
Great score there! All I did two days ago was walk around a city park and rock garden collecting perennial seeds. But next year I'm going to find a city park begonia and dahlia bed and keep my eye on it. I suppose I could take to the trails today and do some scouting. Perhaps there are some being cleared out.