Digging and dividing 2023

Juliarugula · 2023-10-08T17:22:54+00:00

We haven’t had a frost yet, but could be any day in the next few weeks. We have some nights with lows predicted as 39 coming up in a few days. Additionally...

Emilyp

@"Teddahlia"#p6734Thanks! I remember you mentioning a certain kind of cinnamon was the most antifungal, can you please remind me which one?

Emilyp

Juliarugula Thank you! I think I will try a little experiment and keep them stored separately.

Teddahlia

All of the "wait for frost" or a good frost helps make the tubers "go dormant" or that 120 days is needed to ripen tubers is all "cat poop". Dahlia myths have been perpetuated for decades or more and are nearly impossible to eradicate with actual truth.
(1) Frost does not occur at all in the native habitat for dahlias in the low mountains of Central America. Why wait for something that means nothing to the dahlia? We harvest the clumps in October and November and it seldom frosts before we are done. Margaret hates working outside in cold weather. She says her hands hurt from the cold. No problem and we dig during the nicer days.
(2) The 120 day rule is an approximation of an approximation and was never meant to be a rule but only an estimate of the time to have big enough tubers to sell. Where did this farmer live that concocted this estimate? Was it northern Canada or in Los Angeles or perhaps Michigan? At Swan Island they plant in mid May and begin harvest about now in late October. Why do they use those dates? Because the tubers get bigger when they use the entire growing season. Do you personally require bigger tubers? One of the first lessons I learned at the dahlia club was to avoid the larger tubers as they did not grow well.
(3) There is no required waiting time from the cutting off the stalks and digging. Actually, it is better to cut them off just before you dig. There is a "how to see the eyes on dahlia tubers for beginners" method that involves cutting off the stalks and waiting a week to dig them, What happens? The tuber clumps thinks(they must have pretty high IQs) that they have lost their stalks and need to grow new ones. So, the eyes swell and start to grow and like magic anybody can see the eyes. I believe this is a waste of time as I can see eyes from 100 feet away. I do not want oversized eyes that can be damaged on the tubers.
We had our professional model stand near the waterlily plant that grew 7 feet tall and was still blooming when we dug it a few minutes later.

KitCMC

Teddahlia thanks, Ted 😊

Kaylo

Teddahlia This is great information. I have heard that waiting until 2 weeks after a hard frost allows the tubers to develop a "tougher skin." Is this a myth as well?

MissyWeitzel

What you do to your growing spaces after digging? Do you use a cover crop? If so, what method do you use to terminate it in spring?

I'll be using leaf mulch again this year but I'm interested to know what others have tried.

Pic is my last bucket of the season. Winkie Lambrusco (pom in bottom right) is finishing strong, and putting out loads of perfect flowers and stems while everything else is super wimpy after so many rainy days.

JessieC

MissyWeitzel I do not have an answer for you, and will be interested to hear what others say. But I had to comment about Winkie Lambrusco!! Where did you get it? I have been on the lookout for it, with no luck.

MissyWeitzel

JessieC I picked up some tubers at our local dahlia society spring sale. PM me if ya want to trade me for it. 😁

Juliarugula

MissyWeitzel I do a leaf mulch cover too. I started when the city stopped collecting curb leaves because I was trying to figure out what to do with them. It worked so well I’ve just kept it up. It means I can’t use a weed and feed on the lawn, but I’ve never been a fan of those anyhow.

Teddahlia

"I'll be using leaf mulch again this year but I'm interested to know what others have tried?"
Leaf mulch is much better than cover crop and if I had access to it, that is what we would use.
Leaf mulch has some nitrogen i it too. It is safer than commercial compost that can be contaminated with herbicide. I would only fear that someone mixed some contaminated grass clippings into the leaf pile. Cover crop does break up the soil a bit and does add organic material but at lesser rate than a 2 inch application of leaf mulch.

Blurry pictures do happen with cell phones.

AndreaB

Teddahlia Blurry pictures do happen with cell phones

I have such a hard time photographing red flowers. They always look blurry.

Krista

Juliarugula leaf mulch cover

Do you lay them on top whole or chopped up?

Juliarugula

Krista Do you lay them on top whole or chopped up?

I mulch mow them into my mower bag and then dump the mulched leaves over the garden. There’s always a bunch of whole leaves that get blown in there too and they’re annoying because they block moisture a bit too much…

Krista

Juliarugula Thank you! Yes, I’ve tried whole leaves and it wasn’t great. I’ll try your method this year, we have a little electric mulching mower so this should work well!

Teddahlia

We are harvesting the pot tubers as there is a frost warning later in the week. I am about half done and it certainly is easier that digging tuber clumps. I believe we have less than 500. . Most of them are not blooming but an HH Big Pink had a 7 inch flower on it.

Krista

Teddahlia Do you store your pot tubers in their pots and open air or do you prep them in any way?

JessieC

Teddahlia I have the same question as @Krista 😬
The ones I’ve grown this year look much more manageable compared to digging up tubers! And Orange Globe has three blooms, which is more than have appeared on any of the OG plants that I grew in the ground.
Thank you!

Juliarugula

Tuber clump photos and commentary:

KA’S Bo Peep got smothered by Khaleesi (lesson learned) and never bloomed but looked pretty healthy all year. It made the teeniest tubers ever. I bought it at my dahlia society sale and remember thinking “boy, whoever donated these sure picked out the smallest tubers for donation”, but apparently that’s just what she does!

Bonhoeffer was a disappointment as a tuber maker. Those four thick tubers were the mothers. My other plant produced no tubers even as thick as a pencil. We’ll see how these guys keep - maybe a Saran Wrap variety.

KA’s Khaleesi did great.

SB Oro made cute little easy dividing tubers like Mingus Gregory.

BQ York is going to be a pain in the butt to divide again. At least this time I don’t think I’ll have to break out the power tools.

Teddahlia

Pot Tubers: Do you store your pot tubers in their pots and open air or do you prep them in any way?
Yes
More detail. We cut off the green stalk(s) to an inch or so. We place 16 pots into a square flat. We stack the flats 6 high on the garage floor and if it is going to be really cold, put a bunch of old blankets on them. It does not seem to matter much if the soil in the pots is dry or wet. Easy peasy compared to digging and dividing tuber clumps.

Krista

Teddahlia What a dream, thank you. I’ve been wondering how concerned I should be with moisture so it’s helpful to hear what works for you. Thank you, again!

JessieC

Thanks @Teddahlia !!
Another question: what’s the secret to getting these things out of the ground without too much damage? I recall from last year that some had thicker skins than others. So far, I’ve been seeing the skin just rub off if I hose them off. And short of digging them out with an archaeological level of care, I don’t know how to release them from the soil. My tubers look so beaten up 😩

Pictured are RRA, koko Puff, Coralie, and Clearview Peachy.
Is it too early for me to be digging them out?

blown_dry

JessieC So far, I’ve been seeing the skin just rub off if I hose them off.

I dig in the spring and the skins on mine are soft. I leave the rinsed clump in the open air overnight before dividing, otherwise the skins damage too easily. I don't know what tells a dahlia tuber to toughen up. Maybe cooler soil temps? Obviously being dried out a bit above ground will do it. This is a thing with potatoes also, yes? "New potatoes" have tender skins.

JessieC

And speaking of pot tubers, these are great so far! A couple of photos FYI.
Jessie G is very tidy and compact. The plant did nothing this season.
Rose Toscano is bursting the pot. That plant was quite prolific. I suppose I should’ve cut it back.

Krista

JessieC Wow your pot tubers look outstanding, well done! I’m scared to peek at my outdoor pots (but hopeful!) - I had some indoors that *grew above ground for months but barely made roots when I shook them out of their pots. Indoor pot tubers must not be a thing. 😅

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