Waking up tubers

StevenS

This is an interesting topic and i am sure there a multitude of answers. what is the best way to wake up tubers? Now, i have done the moistened peat moss process in a bag, and that works nicely. But if you have a lot, it is a lot of work to check for eyes. Also roots will grow too. i want to send eyed up tubers to people without the roots. Or does a person just clean up the roots before sending and is that ok?

So, how do the experts wake up tubers without getting roots? just some heat?
Obtained some recent eyed tubers, but probably will not start them for another month. Can i just store them for another month without any damage to that eye?
Received some tubers last year with some nice eyes, planted them in pots with eye exposed (one way) and eyes covered in moistened soil in pots, but sometimes got very limited growth or no growth. Any ideas to best handle this sprouting period. Or just chalk it up to a tuber with limited growth potential and a dud.

Krista

StevenS I’m commenting to hopefully get fresh eyes on this discussion, I’m really curious to hear answers/suggestions too about whether or not it’s ok to just clean off roots from eyed up tubers before sending and popping already eyed up tubers back into storage. And if it’s possible to wake up tubers without getting roots!

calico20hill

I don't think I have ever had a tuber with good eyes that refused to grow unless it was already rotting from inside. In nearly every case, if I cut further into the tuber from the base this was the problem. They can look OK from the outside and still have a rotten core.

blown_dry

I saw an interesting video clip of a supplier(?) who cuts the end off all their tubers so they can see if there is core rot before storing/shipping. The cut progressively more and more from a tuber that had that problem showing how the rot extended all through the center of the tuber.

calico20hill

I often do this too. I learned the hard way that perfect looking tubers do not neccesarily hve perfectly . Sometimes you can save them once you find it, sometimes not. But the sooner you catch it the better chance you have. I had a Tahoima Tiger from RIvers that would not fit into its preplanting pot lat year. I cut off the end and discovered the rot. I wrote to River's about it and they graciouslysent me a new one but the top end survived and grew (After I cleaned it out well) and I had 2 nice plants. The rot had not shown at all from the outside and they had no way of knowing it was going on inside until I decided to shorten the long tuber.

Krista

I saw one supplier who sinks each tuber into a bleach and water solution as part of their clump-splitting process before storing. If the tuber floats, they've found this indicates rot within the tuber due to the air pocket that develops. In their demo, it showed that this was the case which I thought was interesting!

AKWindWatcher

Krista I think I saw the same video. I tried it on a few tubers and found it to be somewhat accurate but not foolproof. One tuber that was completely fine floated. Another that wasn't sunk. I asked another grower about it and she said she had the same experience.

Krista

AKWindWatcher Oh ok, yes, I suppose the method isn’t scientific enough to be fool-proof. I’m so glad you’ve tested it! I had hoped the success rate was going to be a little higher, but good to know it’s not reliable. It would have been such a neat trick.

JessE

If you're on FB, this post is from the Dahlia Growers group, with starting tubers in plastic bags and some potting soil. you place it so the eye is up, with just barely damp soil. https://www.facebook.com/groups/265949743891471/posts/1552416935244739/

blown_dry

Back when I would sell tubers, I would divide the clump and then put the tubers crown first in a pile of nice moist potting soil with only the very root ends exposed to air. This kept them from sprouting roots while the crowns kept developing so I could be sure I was only selling tubers that were going to sprout. Take this with the caveat that it was an experiment that seemed to work well, but not something that's widely done and tested that I know of.

Bessie

I need some "counseling" regarding waking up tubers. I'm very disappointed when tubers either take forever to grow, or tubers come with small sprouts, but don't rot but don't continue growing when potted up(e.g. "Sandia Joy", I'm still waiting). I have a few tricks that have worked, such as lightly dusting a dud tuber with rooting hormone powder, or giving the potted tuber a bit of extra bottom heat( e.g. Cafe au Lait), and of course, being patient (e.g."Summit Festival" finally sprouted). Typically, the tubers I'm talking about don't rot, but if they have eyes, they just seem like duds that don't want to grow. I need the perspective of those with years of experience growing from tubers.

Teddahlia

"I need the perspective of those with years of experience growing from tubers. " Only about 30 years experience here and I look at it from a practical point of view knowing that some will not grow for me. Grow more of everything to be sure you have enough. Cafe Au Lait problems would never happen to me as we do not grow it. Small tubers with small sprouts can be a problem. I give them away as the free one.

calico20hill

I pot up my tubers and have good growth on them when I set them out. If something refused to shows signs of growth that would be a variety my garden doesn't need anyhow. If it was showing SOME sign of growth but very slow, I would probably tuck it into the end of a row and see what it did. Or plant it in a pot where I could watch it and decide whether it was worth the bother.

Bessie

calico20hill thanks! I have been following a similar strategy, so far. For those tubers that don't want to grow, that's the part that can be disappointing. But I agree, we don't want dahlias that are "difficult".

Teddahlia

"...that would be a variety my garden doesn't need anyhow. " I believe they wrote a nursery rhyme about this: something about sour grapes. Many of those new dahlias are over rated anyway🙃.

blown_dry

I expect a certain amount of failure. It's so normal to divide dahlia clumps, I think it's easy to lose track of the notion that we are doing something that reduces chances of growing success rather than keeping it the same or increasing it. I would guess that odds of success decline on average as the number of divisions increases, even given a careful and experienced divider. Each division is a spin of the wheel and duds are a thing. I would say even as many as 1/10 or 1/15. I bet the odds get worse for expensive, hard-to-acquire varieties because a higher percent of duds might be why they are hard to get. Ted is right that the fix is to change the odds with more stock where possible, as not much can be done to make a dud not be a dud.

KitCMC

I’m not sure what your temps are like, but I often have a bunch who get their act together once it’s consistently warm for a stretch and I add a whisper of water to their soil. For reference, we were in the mid 40°s last night & high of 67° and I still have a bunch moving slowly. There is typically a dramatic warm up here in late May. I do always expect some just won’t make it, and some will be obviously diseased.

Bessie

KitCMC your weather is very similar to mine. I do think a long warm up is needed for some tubers. I'm guessing the climate the tubers are grown and the storage conditions may both have an affect on the wake up.

Teddahlia

Tubers differ genetically in the temps needed to "wake them up". HH Electra wants more heat. Others in the same storage area will have 6 inch sprouts on them.

SteveM

When I order a new variety from a vendor I almost always buy two tubers to check the type. I often have one of the tubers sprout long before the other. Same variety, same vendor. I don't know why. Maybe I talked more kindly to one of them?