I am in Yorkshire . I have many dahlias which are all grown in pots. I leave them to die back and just leave them over winter. All seem to be thriving this year although some tubers have out grown their pots so I have moved them into bigger pots . One ( Kong is his name ) had nearly grown the size of a large Belfas sink so he is now in a raised bed.
The ones I have planted in the beds rarely seem to come back the next year as I think they are eaten by some monster of sorts. I will be digging up Kong this winter as I would be sad if he was eaten .
Not here in Scotland they ain't. I look on dahlias being a bit like summer bedding - here for a few months, flower their cotton socks off, then gone never to be seen again! Can't be faffed with lifting them every year.
'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement' - Helen Keller
I have some in pots that survived overwinter in the unheated greenhouse, I put it down to luck rather than skill in my case.
I grow new ones from seed usually and treat them as annuals like hogweed, any that survive are a bonus.
I'm in the northwest, Manchester. I didn't lift them, just left the pots to dry out at the end of the season and bunged them under the staging. Started watering in the spring and moved the pots outside last week.
Re overwintering in the ground: soil's important too. Mine have survived 2 winters here in Nottingham with a foot-high pyramid of soil piled up on top, but my soil's sandy and very free-draining: heavier soils will collect all the damp around the tubers and more likely rot them.
Rob Lockwood says:Re overwintering in the ground: soil's important too. Mine have survived 2 winters here in Nottingham with a foot-high pyramid of soil piled up on top, but my soil's sandy and very free-draining: heavier soils will collect all the damp around the tubers and more likely rot them. See original post
Exactly Rob. That's not the sort of soil conditions ( and climate ) we have up here. Cold and dry is always better for overwintering many plants
Our winters last a lot longer - we have more cold months than warmer ones too. Like a lot of areas in the UK, we have a shorter season, and our average summer temp is less than 20 degrees. Our average annual rainfall is around four feet (in this region) so when you combine the two, you can see why dahlias aren't left in the ground!
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Are you coastal, Maisie? That would make a difference. I was making a generalisation, but even Joyce (who is half an hour away from me and at lower level ) has better conditions as she's coastal.
I could probably have left some in the ground this winter, as it's been the mildest I've ever known, and in the new raised bed against the south facing wall, but I gave up on them a long time ago
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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I am in Yorkshire . I have many dahlias which are all grown in pots. I leave them to die back and just leave them over winter. All seem to be thriving this year although some tubers have out grown their pots so I have moved them into bigger pots . One ( Kong is his name ) had nearly grown the size of a large Belfas sink so he is now in a raised bed.
The ones I have planted in the beds rarely seem to come back the next year as I think they are eaten by some monster of sorts. I will be digging up Kong this winter as I would be sad if he was eaten .
Not here in Scotland they ain't. I look on dahlias being a bit like summer bedding - here for a few months, flower their cotton socks off, then gone never to be seen again! Can't be faffed with lifting them every year.
Quite so hogweed. No one in the west of Scotland would leave them outside all winter with all that cold, wet soil.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I can't agree with them being perennial.
Monty in Hereford loses his, if he doesn't dig them up.
I think Hosta, digs his up in Devon and I used to lose plenty, if I left them in the ground, here in sunny Sheffield.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
I have some in pots that survived overwinter in the unheated greenhouse, I put it down to luck rather than skill in my case.
I grow new ones from seed usually and treat them as annuals like hogweed, any that survive are a bonus.
I'm in the northwest, Manchester. I didn't lift them, just left the pots to dry out at the end of the season and bunged them under the staging. Started watering in the spring and moved the pots outside last week.
Exactly Rob. That's not the sort of soil conditions ( and climate ) we have up here. Cold and dry is always better for overwintering many plants
Our winters last a lot longer - we have more cold months than warmer ones too. Like a lot of areas in the UK, we have a shorter season, and our average summer temp is less than 20 degrees. Our average annual rainfall is around four feet (in this region) so when you combine the two, you can see why dahlias aren't left in the ground!
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I'm in west of Scotland & I do - Dahlias are the one thing that do really well for me!!
Are you coastal, Maisie? That would make a difference. I was making a generalisation, but even Joyce (who is half an hour away from me and at lower level ) has better conditions as she's coastal.
I could probably have left some in the ground this winter, as it's been the mildest I've ever known, and in the new raised bed against the south facing wall, but I gave up on them a long time ago
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...