OOOh, if it's a killing frost you will be stunned at the appearance of your poor dahlias tomorrow. Take a picture!

Three years ago I was crowing about still cutting flowers in late October while the quiet little gal at the doctor's office who grows a field of dahlias with her family told me she had hers all dug and tucked away. The very next frosty morning, I looked out upon what used to be a garden of dahlias to a blackened, unrecognizable conglomerate of stalks with rotten drooping leaves and browned masses of blooms now hanging incognito. Tragic, as I was unprepared for this sight. Worse, I had to eat crow next time I saw the doctor's office girl! I am too impatient to wait for a similar freeze now, I will start cutting and digging in the next few days.

Actually, dahlias are one of the only (if not THE only) summer flowering tubers that will actually benifit from being left in the ground and blackened by the first frost. Don't ask me why - it's noted several times in this book I have about bulbs, corms & tubers that gives extensive information on every aspect of bulb gardening. There is an entire chapter on selecting, planting, growing, propogating, lifting and storing summer flowering tubers - with a sub-chapter specifically devoted to the care & maintenance of dahlia tubers.

Yes, Rachel, a light frost is good. A heavy frost is very discouraging.

After the first frost, cut the stocks back to 3 or 4 inchs and cap the ends with tin foil. Wait for 7 to 10 days before digging which allows the tubers to develop eyes.

LOL those dahlias with the foil on their ends are going to be pretty funny looking dudes! Better watch out for those people out there with the UFO conspiracy theories.

That is unusual, Poochella. I leave my dahlias in the ground year round in Oklahoma City, and they always come back for me. Is that not the norm for you in zone 7?

Susan

Well I've had some come back,Susanlynne, but we had 90+ inches of rain two winters ago and that is asking alot for a clump ( and humans!) to survive, even for well-drained soil. I am in a soggy little microclimate where we can have prolonged freezes in winter as well.

The prevailing theory is you get healthier plants and flowers if you dig and divide; easier to manage the resultant tuber clump each year as well. It depends on how much you want to fuss over them. I am all for easy, but also want to make sure my tubers have a shot at surviving.

I'm thinking of leaving mine in the ground all winter, and digging and dividing in the spring. Do you all think this would work?Several years ago I capped the ends and mulched heavily. Only lost one. I let them grow without digging, but the next dig was horrible, I had to have help to get them out of the ground. I'm thinking I could see the eyes better in the spring, and I have no real good place to store them. Garage too cold and basement too hot.

I don't know about your zone, Flowergirl70ks. Zone 7 is pushing it.

Poochella - with that much rain, I can understand it. We're a little drier in Oklahoma. It would probably take us 5 years to accumulate 90 inches of rain.

We tend to lean on the dry side. Although, I've been covering my colocasias and alocasias in the winter, with plastic bags of soil. When I pull them off in spring, they are a mushy mass. Well, I freaked everybody out on the aroid forum because they thought my tubers should have rotted. Well, they didn't. In fact, they came back with many more offsets this year than ever before. So sometimes I win and sometimes I don't. Gardening for me is "risky business", and it's about the only thing I'm willing to take a risk at. Like, I don't play the slots, or scratch cards (yeah, they finally passed the lottery in Oklahoma), or buy raffle tickets even. But, I am a zone pusher, and I do take a lot of risks in my garden.

Susan

Hi. Here in Newfoundland we have only had a mild frost yet.If I don't start digging my 100 dahlias soon I might be digging them in snow like I did last year. I wish I could leave them for a week after they turn black but when they are all muddy it is hard to dry them off for storage.I like to keep some of the soil on them as it helps to overwinter them.I washed them one year and nearly lost them.

Hi All!

My worst fears came to pass waiting for that "first frost".
We didn't have a frost last week, but did have a 20 minute above ground freeze. Went out at 05:00 hrs and the windshield on the car was wet. Checked again at 06:30 hrs and the glass was frozen solid.

Surprisingly it didn't hurt the tall plants. I've got Arabian Nights, Lilac Bulls, Thomas Edison's, Garden Wonders and a couple of other taller variety's that grew to over 6' and 7' tall and were loaded with blossoms.

The smaller closer to the ground plants did get bit a little as is usual as the cold is closer to the ground during frost or freeze. In fact I gave my neighbor about 10 to 15 beautiful fully bloosmed flowers this afternoon before they go cut down and yanked. She felt about as bad as I did knowing the beauties had to go.

I don't disbud or pinch back. Again some of the novice in me. But I sure do have to tie a lot.

But the point is October is supposed to be one of our dryer months when it comes to precip. With 2 well fed hurricanes Katrina and Rita and having Wilma turn into a Nor'easter has really put us behind. A number of higher elevations had 5" to 10" of snow. School closings in October??? Unheard of.

On top of that we can't get out of and beyond 45 degrees. Cold, wet, dank, is what's it's been here and couldn't stand letting the tubers sit any longer in soup.

I really wanted to wait as long as I could but started digging 2 days ago. Yesterday in a steady cold rain. The cut worms were having a field day to a number of the bulbs and trying to get the tubers out of the suctioned mud was like pulling on a rope.

I know I'll loose some tubers. I haven't gotten to the stage of Saran Wrap yet as eyes have not developed. This is the second year I've waited for a frost and disappointedly we didn't get. Last year dug the tubers out in Nov. The weather then was avbove normal. So go figure.

Hope others have faired better?

Jim

I' m still waiting for first frost. The last two years I have dug mid Nov. This year I have 16 in laws coming in from all over the globe for TG. LOL! Not to worry, DH knows I have to dig when the time is right. He'll help this year.

FLowergirl KS, In your zone I wouldn't try leaving them in the ground, unless you don't mind losing them. I'd just go ahead and get them out of the ground annually, and if you do it now, you have a greater chance at keeping them alive for next year.
My two cents worth.

Hovering at 32 degrees right now, frost on the rooftop but dahlias still look okay. I have a bunch of cut tubers shivering out in the garage- glad I threw a towel over them last night!

Jim, I feel for you cutting in the cold, dank, drippiness. Even on a fairly nice day it is a cool damp job to wash all those clumps. OUr soil is very moist this year too: all the way through the clumps, but I found if I take extra time to dig around all angles and gently wedge the clump up, there is not so much breakage. I'm trying to dig away as much top soil to lighten the load, as I can, then get rid of as much wet soil as I can before moving the clump very far.
Your 'wet mud/pulling with a rope' reminded me how easy it is to break those tubers with too much force or weight on them.
Good luck, and stay warm!

My problem is I haven't had the hard frost yet...dug up a bunch, and they are shriveling... or mildewing. Help!

tcgreene