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I’ve been very happy with tuber production so far this year. Very few disappointments. The biggest bummer for me was AC Twisp, which produced a massive system of roots with 0 dividable tubers. Some of the roots were thickish, though, so I’m storing the clump undivided with dirt on. I kind of think it will probably make it through winter storage? But I’ve never tried to store a root mass before, so…
I’m trying to lift and divide 10-15 per day, and am a little over halfway done. I enjoy the digging and dividing and storing quite a bit - it gives me a similar feeling of satisfaction as putting up servings of tomatoes from the garden. Season completed, everything in its place…
The part I don’t enjoy is trying to figure out how to dispose of all the stems/foliage.
I planned my dig week for Oct 31. Help is lined up. I even have a teenage farm kid coming by after school each afternoon to give us a boost to end the day well. It's always nice to have someone fresh come in at the end to help haul bulb crates full of tubers.
Cosey, yeah, quite disappointing. My plants were both quite robust too. The larger of the two masses I honestly feel pretty certain will be able to even be divided in the spring. Some of the roots are as wide as a lipstick tube, but are sort of conical, dying straight into a huge crown with no necks or obvious eyes? Crossing fingers…
Need advice.....I'm now in Zone 5. We have had beautiful weather and my dahlias are still blooming. Those in more shade at this time of the year are showing signs of not getting enough sun, but they are still blooming. Next week our lows will consistently be in the 20's and 30's. Should I cut back all the plants now so they have time to show eyes and then start digging this weekend? Is there a timetable I should follow for all the steps (ie: cut back, wait so many days, then dig and divide). Thank you in advance.
Jane
"In joy or sadness, flowers are our constant friends"-Kazuko Okakura
You must not be able to see eyes as that is the reason people cut them back a few days before digging(and you need to divide right away as the eyes disappear quickly). So, since I do not need to see eyes, I cut them back as I dig them. I like the commercial method of digging the clumps and storing them with the dirt on them until you are ready to divide them. Commercial operations may store the whole clumps for a couple of months but never wash them until just before dividing. Swan Island dahlias has a huge warehouse where they store the undivided clumps and they are stacked up to the 20 foot ceiling in specialized crates. Less commercial people in our club are mostly the "dig some and wash clumps and never more than you can divide in a few days" people. They have been doing that for 30 years.
We like to place a sign on our porch that says: We are in the garden. Really, we are always in the garden.
Name: Steve San Diego Commercial cut flower grower
My parents ran a commercial operation in Montana until 1993. They always washed the tubers as they dug. (my father would dig and my mother would wash). At the end of every day they would haul the crates of tubers into their 45-50F daylight basement and cover the crates with sheets of plastic. It would take them about a month to get all of their uncut clumps into storage. Then it would take them another month to divide the clumps (my father would divide and my mother would write the name of the tuber on each tuber). The last year that they sold tubers they dug and divided 30,000 tubers with no outside help. Makes me feel lazy.
Clearview Jazz (a favorite) had super long tubers with tiny necks that all grew down down down. I broke about half of them as I lifted the clump. Live and learn.
teddahlia wrote:Commercial operations may store the whole clumps for a couple of months but never wash them until just before dividing.
Oh, how I would love to have this option. I always have to “race the clock” to get everything done before it gets too cold and I lose the use of my outside hose.
30,000 is amazing. Other feats of wonder:
Jim Lamson, (BJs) of Ontario, Oregon digs 7,000 dahlia clumps mostly by himself and divides them as he goes AND he is already done for this year.
At the talk a couple of years ago Nick Gitts said they grow and divide 450,000 clumps on their 40 to 45 acres(depends on leased land and varies, one field is about a mile down the road and near a 9 hole golf course ).
Historically, the Hamilton Dahlia farm operated by Harvey Koop had over 100 acres of dahlias
I have only dug two clumps pushed up by a gopher.
Off subject trivia; I used to play golf and you could say we now play dahlias. I was never a really good golfer but my two brothers were pretty good. One had a handicap of about 9 and that is very good. The other at his prime had a handicap of .6, that is "point 6" meaning his average score was only about a half stroke above par. I played the small 9 hole course where Swan Island has leased land about 30-35 years ago. I invited my good golfer brother to play and he had never seen the course. He proceeded to shoot level par 27 and did so by making a birdie on the last and most difficult hole on the course. I spent most of my time looking for my golf ball in the farm field(now swan island dahlias?)next to the course and shot about 45.
2022 seedling that is being kept because it is purple and flowers fairly small.
We like to place a sign on our porch that says: We are in the garden. Really, we are always in the garden.
I can post something in digging and dividing and today we will not be digging and probably not tomorrow either. I am still gathering seed pods and for sure we will not be digging the plants that have ripening pods that are rare. First year seedlings will be first.
We like to place a sign on our porch that says: We are in the garden. Really, we are always in the garden.
Opinions please....I am having a "discussion" with a local friend about whether she needs to cover the stem tops with aluminum foil after she cuts her dahlias and before digging. We are finally getting the rain we have needed for weeks.
I say that dahlia stems grow with a a division in the stalks that blocks rain from moving down into the tuber. That has been my experience for years of dahlia digging near Seattle. I cut some dahlias down today and checked the stems and low and behold they do NOT have the partitions between segments. Is this a climate difference or what? These were an assortment of dahlias from local NW breeders, particularly the Connels, Clearview and Boleys ones.
She grows the commercial varieties of Dutch tubers that she gets in large quantities. Mine are seldom more then 3 of the same variety and mostly by local breeders here in the Pacific NW. I know that occasionally I do have a clump that seems to rot for no apparent reason , but seldom more then a clump or two out of several hundred plants.
I leave long enough stems on mine to have a good handle to grab with my fist. She cuts hers closer to the tuber. Would this make a difference? I need a review of dahlia plant anatomy!
Autumn in Michigan can be rainy and I’ve never experienced tuber rot from uncovered stalks. I typically cut them down after our first hard frost and begin digging a week or two later.
Mine have already been cut for 3 weeks and there’s no sign of rot (only half-way done digging). Not all stalks are hollow, but I’ve had my fair share of the ones you could tip and drink out of if you wanted to! Doesn’t seem to harm the tubers, though. (I cut them closer to the ground, but my husband leaves the taller “handles”… same outcome).
I did dig one that was super wet. It was a cutting that had been started in a Root Riot. That spongy stuff was holding a lot of water within a cluster of tubers. Just had to dig it out and rinse.
Thanks for your response, Andrea. I am going to keep a chart with people's answers so I can show her.
I'll note the location and any climate hints like Andrea gave.
It seems to me like it is one of these ideas that run around the internet every year. I tried it the first year I read the idea and decided it was waste of time that I was already short on. plus a waste of aluminum .....and many of them blew off in a wild October windstorm.
Name: Steve San Diego Commercial cut flower grower
All dahlia growers are a little "touched"and we do things that make us feel better but is of little benefit to the dahlias. Personally, I like to use rooting hormone. I know it does not help the cuttings root faster/better but it makes me feel useful so I use it. So, if making aluminum hats for dahlia stalks makes someone feel better I say "go for it". :smily:
Hormone powder probably does help with leaf cuttings as they are very slow to root and a hormone kick would help. I just do not want to expose myself to a chemical that has the word "hormone" in it.
We like to place a sign on our porch that says: We are in the garden. Really, we are always in the garden.
Name: Steve San Diego Commercial cut flower grower
Islander wrote:Probably not a big concern where you are, Steve...
Not now, but the first 5+ years that I grew dahlias I used overhead irrigation and had stems full of water all summer. The first year it worried me so I slit many of the stems near the ground so the water would drain out. I also tried using plumber's putty to plug the tops of the stalks so water couldn't enter. That was time consuming so the second season I just let the stems fill with water, and I didn't notice any increase in rot.
[quote="Islander"]Opinions please....I am having a "discussion" with a local friend about whether she needs to cover the stem tops with aluminum foil after she cuts her dahlias and before digging. We are finally getting the rain we have needed for weeks.
Have you ever had a gush of water come out of the stem when you are cutting down ? Happens all the time for me. I think the aluminum foil covering thing is an "old wives tale" personally ...
