Caring for Dahlias over the winter month
The majority of the dahlias, we chopped off the stems, dug up the tubers and turned them upside down on the shelves in the greenhouse to dry. This hopefully will create a better crop as the dahlia has already matured into an established plant … fingers crossed
The dahlias must be stored where they are completely dry to make sure that there is no rot that could kill them. We then stored them in boxes full of sawdust so no damp could reach them. This was affective, however we did loose a few tubers, so next year we are going to find another method for storing our dahlias. (sorry no photo of them being stored over winter)
Potting on, we carefully got each tuber out of the sawdust and potted them all into the right size pots, dependant on the tuber size.
We have also bought many more exciting varieties from places such as Halls of Heaven, National Dahlia Collection and Parkers, which arrive as tubers ready to pot.
Once all the varieties have been potted, make sure that each one is CLEARLY labelled, in this stage of the game it is important that all dahlias stay labelled so they do not get muddled. We have added bed labels written with pencil so it won’t rub off in the rain.
The pots were kept lightly watered on shelves in the greenhouse which helped them to sprout. Once the sprouts started to establish, we brought the plants outside for two weeks to acclimatise and harden off before planting.
Once the main stem started to establish we started pinching each dahlia as a form of branching on. This means where the main stem has been pinched, two new stems should shoot out, which later on will increase the amount of beautiful blooms.
Off to the field we gooooo
Phoebe Rose Gardening 