throw them out.. and be done with them ... its no loss to lose what you didnt know you had .. lol .. wrap your head around that.. lol ...

they arent houseplants .. so thats out ...

you could put them out in the cold.. and force dormancy .. and wonder if they will store properly after that ...

but why throw them in the box of good tubers.. and wonder if they are going to rot during the winter.. and harm your good ones ...

once divided.. you will let them dry for a few days.. before storage.. right???

i used to divide in spring.. figuring why open all those wounds ...

no matter what i did.. i usually ended up with twice as many as i needed the next year... so just throw out questionable stock up front ...

and then i just got tired of all that.. and gave up on them .. in my MI ... just a PIA ...

ken

Thanks Ken, I guess you're right - why worry over losing something I didn't know I had? As far as putting them in the cold, I'm beginning to wonder if it ever WILL get cold. Practically mid-November and I'm outside in short sleeves. Of course, check back with me in a month or so and I'll probably be cursing the cold!

Yes, I am going to let them dry for a few days. I've never really bothered with dahlias because they ARE such a pain, but last summer I grew almost 90 for my daughter's wedding and felt compelled to save them. I had some fairly good success rates for overwintering, (unlike most attempts in the past) and I enjoy them so much that I guess it's worth the trouble. I do like to save as many as possible to offset any losses.

I just hope you know how much mental strength it will take to toss those babies now growing in the box. I can't even thin seedlings. It's only after 20 years of gardening that I can finally pull the hundreds of echinacea seedlings as I weed and toss them - but I have to do it quickly or I change my mind and look for places to plant them!

Wish me strength, lol....
:)
Dee

but last summer I grew almost 90 for my daughter's wedding and felt compelled to save them...

===>>> your second mistake ... lol ...

gift them all to her next spring.. let her throw them all away ....

as to weather.. it was mid 70s here yesterday.. today a chipper 43 ... enjoy the warmth while you can ....

or.. just leave them there in the box .. and let them rot the whole batch ... then you wont have to worry about separation anxiety next spring ... because the smell of rot will make you throw them all out ... now thats a nightmare i recall once ...

canna left my garden vernacular.. that same fall ... who cares you good for nothing high maintenance plants ... pshaw on you and your progeny.. of which there wont be any next spring.. so there .. adios ...

now.. what to do with all that new garden space for next year ... better start ordering stuff that will just sit in the ground.. all next winter ... im getting to old for all this tuck you in for the winter nonsense ... oh.. and your are not a houseplant.. so stay the hell out of my house .... lol ...

hows that for a random diatribe.. lol ...

dont let your tubers dictate your life .... omg.. what does that mean ...

ken

ps: bet my shiny penny she tells you to throw them all away ... so much for sentimentality ....

Dee you could trade some of them for plants that you want! I've done that before!

They are gorgeous!

Or sell some to use the money for something you want!

Thank you Gawdinfever! You can see now why I wanted to at least try to save them!

Can't really go the trade route as I don't know a lot of gardeners (believe it or not!) so if I trade I'd have to get into shipping, etc. The same with selling.

Also, I did a terrible job of labeling. Okay, I DIDN'T label. At all. I never labelled a single one when planting (which is so unlike me!). I did go through the garden with photos of everything I bought and I'm so bad at identifying anything that I couldn't even ID them with the photos lol. So, if I were to sell (or even trade) it would be difficult. "Beautiful White Perfection Dahlia for Sale... or, maybe it's Fleurel... or it could be..." LOL.

Although, I did read that technically one is supposed to have a license to sell named varieties, so maybe it's just as well I don't know what they are!

:)
Dee

Gorgeous Dahlias, Dee. Something I usually want but don't fit them in somehow. I do have limited sun, which is part of it, but, I always intend to add a few. I know, one year I bought Dahlia bulbs at half price from Brent & Becky's and they were dwarfs that I grew in pots. Very inexpensive. Less than buying a six pack of annuals. They did really well, I thought they were easy and flowered a lot. I was just looking at old photos the other day and thought, wow, why didn't I grow more of those? I think it was when I made the change from growing about 20 potted annuals outdoors every summer to four large pots. I didn't really want to grown them in the ground because I didn't think they would winter over and I don't really have a good location to store bulbs over winter. I'm going to have to try harder to fit them in next spring.

Thanks PM2! I do really think they are worth the work and effort, as much as I gripe as I'm lifting, cleaning, separating, storing, unpacking and potting up. But I forgive them when they start to bloom and I have gorgeous bouquets around the house!

Unfortunately I think I waited too long to store them - I put them aside planning to pack them up in a few days and it turned into a few weeks! They were pretty dry so we'll see what happens in spring.

The bad thing is I'm in what I call dahlia limbo. I'm not sure now if my tubers will overwinter, so I'm considering buying more for spring. If I buy, every one of them will overwinter and I'll have them coming out of my ears. If I don't buy, not a single one will survive and I'll have none, and will have to go to Walmart or somewhere like that and buy some that aren't nearly as nice, healthy, or near the color I wanted, because the reputable dealers are all sold out.

And so, I'm opening all the emails from dahlia growers, looking at the beautiful photos and new offerings and wondering... should I...? Ah, the dilemma of being a gardener!

:)
Dee

Yes....that is quite the dilemma. Fingers crossed that all your favorites survive the winter and produce for you again. If not, you might consider waiting for the 50% off sale in late spring. That's what I did and they still had some nice bulbs left. Not as good a selection that's true, but still better than Home Depot.

I came across this old photo from 2007. My garden has changed a lot but I still have those two clay pots, although a little worse for wear. That was taken in early July that year and I had bought the Dahlia bulbs late when they had the 50% off sale, and still they were already blooming in early July. Those were the dwarf varieties and I couldn't have spent more than a couple of dollars a bulb for them. They were the Art Deco series...I think that one might be Monet. I know I bought it that year, this one might be a different one.

They still offer it and I see it's about $3.50 a bulb now, so 50% off...would be pretty reasonable.

Monet Dahlia @ Brent & Becky Bulbs