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...

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. 😅

JessieC

Krista Oh do share how they turned out! I pulled a few out of the grow bags that were perfectly proportioned as pot tubers, so I just popped them into little pots with labels. In fact, I’m doubling up the labels—tape on the pot and a tree tag attached, if possible.

Krista

JessieC How handy! Glad they fit so nicely for you, anything to make storage a teensy easier! I’ll keep you posted for sure - my pot tubers will have to be inspected before the end of next weekend when close to freezing temps arrive here.

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?

JessieC

Kaylo I think I’ve heard that too. The temps here are going back up to the 80s this week! So it might be a while before we get a hard frost. It’s just been so dry that I feel like it’s a good time to get them out of the ground. That said, the skins are very delicate and the necks too. I’ll try to hold off a bit.

Teddahlia

Thick skins are not related to frost in my opinion. Some tubers in a clump were formed later and are immature. They have thin skins but if they are big enough they can store. However, they are very subject to shriveling. Not much can be done to prevent shriveling of immature tubers. The plant has not yet deposited a full load of nutrients into the tuber. I would think about wrapping them in plastic wrap in low humidity areas. The thin skins are easily damaged and exposed to fungus spores in the air. Cinnamon would help to keep fungus from developing. I believe most commercial growers just toss immature tubers.

JessieC

Teddahlia Very helpful. I can even see that some tubers are newer within some clumps, which is why I wonder if I should let them sit longer. Last year, I kept some in Saran Wrap. I’ll do that for the skinny and/or special ones. I’ve been on the lookout for an old wine fridge. It just doesn’t get reliably cold enough here, and it’s bone dry in the wintertime. I used a couple of old Igloo coolers last year, and placed boxes with vermiculite inside them. That way, when there was a cold snap or a warm spell, I could move them. I had such success with cuttings that I’m not really inclined to keep so many tubers.
I’ve been treating them all to a cinnamon dusting too.
blown_dry Thats interesting that yours still have thin skins in the springtime. I read something about potash helping with tuber development but I don’t know if that’s true.
Appreciate your help!

Juliarugula

Hallelujah! Last ones!

I’m jealous of you guys who have more humid environments and can just dig and then divide throughout the winter. Mine start softening if I wait more than a few days with dirt on, or within 24 hours after washing. Also, I have to turn off the water and pack up the hoses before it starts getting much below 30. (Which is looking like Monday, so that got me moving today.)

On to leaf clean up, which I have been neglecting.

Krista

Juliarugula Woohoo well done! I’m so jealous, I haven’t even begun but we should be getting some freezing nighttime temps this weekend so I’ll be forced to begin very soon. Your tuber presentation here tricked me into thinking thanksgiving dinner came early at your house!

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