I just got 5 new tubers from Swan Island last week and could clearly see the eyes on them. Planted them, and some of those eyes are already plumping up, so I know how they SHOULD look. I just don't see anything on my saved tubers...

There are eyes on some of them, on the little bulge that is attached to the main stalk.

Two issues to consider:

1. Most growers at least divide the clump in half, to avoid the stem rot from festering and eventually rotting out the eyes on the tubers... there are a few growers that actually drill a 1/2 inch hole through the clump's center stem to make sure the soft core can dry out. Lots of growers trim the individual tubers off the stalk, making more individual plants and avoiding stem rot. (Here's a wonderful post with very clear images on how to divide a clump- help-finding-eyes-and-cutting-tubers )

2. The air in the inside of a house during winter can be very dry, causing tubers to stay dormant. The ideal humidity, in my experience, is 70%... currently, the room my light shelf is in has a humidity level of 20%. I cover the tuber heads with just-moistened potting mix and lightly cover them to avoid water loss. It is important to not seal the tuber completely in, however, as that might allow mold and fungus to fester.

Hope these comments help, Yipla. Keep with it- great to see your determination to figure this out!

Cheers,
CiCi

**For readers that think overwintering dahlia tubers is too difficult or time consuming**
There
is no hard and fast rule that says you HAVE to overwinter dahlias...
there are lots of casual gardeners who treat dahlias like annuals, and
that is really okay to do. After all, that means you get to choose new
colors/forms every year, and you can get several tubers for the same
price as a flat of pansies.

For those up for a challenge and look forward to climbing the learning curve, digging/storing and dividing your dahlia clumps can provide a wonderful hobby that continues throughout the year. Local dahlia societies provide great learning opportunities and social events around our favorite flower... find your local club here:
American Dahlia Society - find a local club

Thanks CiCi! Good tip on humidity. Maybe I was letting the crowns stay too dry since I planted them, too. Maybe the eyes themselves need some moisture to start popping. I'm going to monitor and spritz them, and also set up a small greenhouse for them outside. I think it's warm enough here that it will really boost them, but hopefully not fry them.

You say you see eyes on them, but I still don't. For example, can you tell me where you think there are eyes on the one I called Tuber 3? I feel like that's the clearest photo. The other photos show some lighter spots, but I don't think those are eyes, just a bad angle in the photo of some scratch.

Also, point taken on dividing the clumps but because I could not see any eyes, I was afraid to divide. I want to save as many as I can, so will try to divide after I can identify eyes.

"I don't think those are eyes" Truly, dahlias surprise us all at times, with where sprouts actually form on the tuber head despite our best guesses. Best thing is to COVER the tops with just-moistened soil, and let time tell you if you are correct.

I really suggest you don't directly mist the tubers to encourage sprouting. Let the sterile potting mix do the work for you, and after you see sprouts, you can excavate the clumps and compare with the above images before dividing the clump.

You're right, I think I do see eyes starting to pop now!

As you gain experience, it will be nothing to you to divide in the fall, keeping the maximum material attached to the head of each tuber (and minimum of the fleshy stem that can start rotting) without obvious eyes to direct you. Varieties differ in how obvious eyes are, and indeed, some varieties have very few eyes, while others seem to be loaded with them...but experience will tell you where they are more likely to come.

Folks sometimes get tubers from vendors that seem like they have no eyes, but after planting, sprouts normally do form. Those vendors used their experience to ascertain the viable tubers, but sometimes they can be mistaken. This is one reason why it is prudent to pre-start tubers before planting outside... You can keep a close eye on your tubers, and contact the vendor after three weeks of being potted with no sprouts, before the vendor runs out of extras to send you because they planted them all!

I would recommend that folks without plant lights set up start potting things up no earlier then 3 weeks before planting out, so you don't have yellow or skinny weak plants develop. Planting time for dahlias is the same as planting time for tomatoes, in your area... after the last hard frost.

Thanks so much, CiCi. You are an asset to this forum!

I think the reason any eyes on mine were really not obvious is because I waited too long to lift. Lifting in early February was probably not ideal. I read you should wait a couple weeks after chopping growth before lifting at the end of the growing season, so that eyes have some time to develop/bulge.

I think what happened to mine is I never chopped the growth (in my area things never freeze). The plants got fairly straggly and just kind of died off on their own, but then full new sprouts formed as well (when I should have dug them before this happened). When I finally dug them, most of those sprouts had also died off and there were no other obvious eyes.

What I'm finding now, I think, is that new sprouts are forming right around where those previous unintended sprouts had grown. I didn't think new growth would appear there, but it seems like those are still growth zones.

"new sprouts are forming right around where those previous unintended sprouts had grown" BINGO! You nailed it. That is exactly what happens. Those areas simply went dormant, waiting for the right conditions to 'wake up.'

Lots of casual gardeners new to dahlias freak out if they inadvertently knock off a sprout from a tuber... no worries, 2-3 will probably grow back to take its place. Experienced growers only allow one sprout per tuber to grow into a plant, sometimes taking the other sprouts as 'cuttings,' to root separately into new plants. Cool stuff.

Check out the FAQ 'How to make cuttings' if you are interested in learning more about it...
http://cubits.org/Dahlias/faqs/view/preseason/#faq_80295

Yes, actually that is EXACTLY what I want to do. The plan is for lots of flowers for an August 6 wedding. I actually am getting nervous that my sprouts are not forming fast enough for me to have time to take the cuttings and root new plants that will grow in time for flowers by August 6.

Some sites I looked at online showed people taking cuttings already in February and I thought, Oh no! I hope this works out for me!

Do you have lights set up yet?

No, right now they are near my sliding door, but it is warm enough here that I am thinking of putting them in a small greenhouse tower outside. Our days are in the low 70s and nights in the 50s here. I figure the greenhouse will boost that temperature quite a bit and have very bright sun. Hopefully it wouldn't be TOO hot for them?

You will need to vent it during the day, or they can fry. Might be better to just leave them outside in a wind-sheltered and pest-protected place, tucking them into the greenhouse if the nights dip down too low.

I'm not sure how to protect from pests. I can put them out on the patio right next to the house... I don't think slugs would get them there, but I'm not sure what else would want to eat them.

Rabbits and slugs are the early pests in my garden. Over-exuberant puppies can cause a good deal of damage, too. Spraying diluted ammonia water (check google for dosage) is great added nitrogen for the plants, smells yucky to mammals and literally MELTS slugs. Just a thought.

Maybe I'll try to put them on the stand that goes inside the greenhouse to keep them up above the ground, and cover them with something that can breathe. Or put a shade cloth over the plastic cover of the greenhouse?

I've only used a raised bed with a cold frame hoop, to harden off my plants before planting (and to relieve congestion on my inside lighting shelves)... it had two permanently opened ends for circulation. Never played with a greenhouse, or had to worry about the intense heat you can get in zone 10b.

Check out this greenhouse thread in another dahlia forum I frequent... might be useful tidbits for you. It's an active forum, so if you ask specific questions, you are likely to get an answer within an hour. http://cubits.org/Dahlias/thread/view/78651/?offset=20

Out in the sun for the last 2 days, I now definitely have confirmed eyes forming sprouts on Tubers 1 and 2. Still waiting on Tubers 3 and 4.

The replacement tubers from Swan Island are all moving ahead with multiple eyes growing.

In the sun on the greenhouse stand, it seemed very hot today so I removed the plastic entirely. Hope they are ok outside. I don't think slugs or snails will find them up on the stand. I don't think it's cold enough even at night to hurt them either.

As a report back on progress, tuber clumps #1 and 2 have multiple sprouts. Clumps #3 and 4 have no sprouts to speak of. I can't understand why but it's getting too late for them to work out.

Just yesterday, Tuber clump #3 had a sprout break through the soil line from underneath, still worried about timing at this point to get cuttings. This morning, I took 2 cuttings from Tuber clump #2, which is Dazzle Me.

Oh, my. You're making me squirm with the talk of timing... I love making cuttings, but learning with a set time table sounds not much fun to me. I hope you just buy new stock and experiment with cuttings without high expectations the first time. With that said, I'm thrilled you are so adventuresome.

Here's my 2-cents about late sprouting and first sprout cuttings:
Often times the larger-bloom varieties takes a bit longer to eye up and grow the first sprout (takes longer to bloom, as well). If you want to speed it up for viable sprouts to use as additional stock, it's best to cut the really fat first sprout early, when it is only a couple millimeters high. This allows the thinner secondary sprouts to start at the base of the primary cut. Typically, the big fat primary sprouts (often on giant varieties) take really long to grow and even longer to root separately as a cutting. The secondary sprouts are thinner, grow quicker and roots in 10 days instead of 15-20. If the primary sprout is thin, disregard the above, and cut it at the base when 3-4 inches tall.

Great advice! Also Tuber clump #4 finally has a few sprouts as of a couple days ago, which came from underneath.

Glad they are working out for you!

It is rare for a clump from tubers to not have any eyes at all. Happens occasionally with first-year clumps from cuttings, though.