Lift in Fall - Dahlia

The biggest problem with gardening is that advice is often contradictory. This is a function of two things: 1) each plant is often treated differently from zone to zone and 2) often more than one method will work for a single plant. Geranium winter storage is a good example of this, having several methods that will produce very similar results. Although I have lifted Dahlia before, I did not have a quantity that made me feel like I needed to over think the process and also felt that if I lost the few I had, the consequences would be minimal in my garden. This year, my Dahlia stock has become very important to me. The result is that I have been reading Dahlia lift in Fall instructions for a week now. As usual, the advice is endless and contradictory. I have decided to pull the recommendations that make the most sense to me from a gardener's point of view and will be using the following simple 4 step process.

1) Begin the process after the first couple of sharp frosts have killed the tops of the plant off. Above ground plant material will be black when you start. Cut the black, frosted off tops down to 6 - 8" and leave the tubers in ground for a week or so.

2) Dig the tubers, shaking all excess soil off them and removing any obviously damaged root. Label and store upside down for the first few days.

3) Upright the tubers and let them dry in a tray with an open weave bottom. As they dry, inspect regularly and discard any damaged or soft material.

4) Pack and store them in a cool, frost free location until Spring, being sure to keep them dry.

Leaving the tubers in ground for a week or so after the tops are frost killed makes sense because success is always increased with plants if you do not shock them too much at once. Each change in conditions for a plant can put the plant into shock. Pruning, dividing, transplanting, changing water conditions... all of these can cause some level of shock. So one would normally not want to make too many changes at any single time. My thinking is the week allows the tubers to recover from the tops being gone and put themselves into a dormant state. That week has passed in my garden so I will be digging today.

Labeling is very important and only takes a minute or two extra. You can tie a label on the remaining stock, label the container you ultimately store them in or write with a Sharpie directly on the tuber. Any way you choose is fine but you will regret not labeling in the Spring if you don't take the few minutes when you lift.

Drying the tubers upside down for the first few days makes sense because the stems are hollow and will have water in them. Keeping tubers dry is key when winter storing to prevent rot and mold. The upside down position will allow the stems to drain and dry. If I was using one of the methods that would have me removing the entire stem, I could skip the few days of upside down storage.

Finally, packing and storing can mean different things. I will put the tubers in pails, buckets and boxes and will not add vermiculite or peat between them to keep them dry. They will be stored inside my house in the coolest area of the basement and I should not have to worry about humidity level. Our winters are very cold here and we have forced air heat. Humidity is never a problem inside in a Saskatchewan winter. If I lived in a higher humidity climate, I may consider extra packing. The key is too keep them cool and dry in a dark space. Wish me luck and the photographs next year will tell the story of my success, or lack of it.