Hi from Utah. I live in a very aird climate also. I used the Saran wrap method for the first time this winter and had amazing success. Most winters my tubers dry up so bad. Great video thanks for sharing
This was great! It was recommended by a dahlia grower on an FB group page and his suggestion was spot on! Thank you for sharing such concise & clear information. This video is a fantastic resource!
This was so incredibly helpful. I just randomly planted some tubers I purchased at Home Depot and loved them so much I wanted to do more. This video really explains the anatomy of the tubers and the demands of the physiology. Thank you for careful explanations! I will be watching this again and again each year, I’m sure
Great informative video on dividing Dahlias! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge on the subject! I grow 100+ varieties of Dahlias, and I was very impressed! Wonderful to get info from another Flower Farmer....Keep the content coming! THANKS!!!
Love the video! My brain is on overload. Now to buy some pretties and hope I have some tubes to divide in the fall. First time planting in Gardnerville. I’ll be watching your video over and over again. Thank you for sharing your info is most helpful!!
It would be a good one! Once you see diseased tubers a few times, you’ll recognize it real quick. When in doubt, throw it out (which is always heartbreaking but necessary). Thank you for the topic idea!!
Amazing video!! One of the best I've seen for dahlias thank you. I have an empty fridge in my garage could I store them in there for the winter in a box using the saran wrap method?
Hi Anna! I eyeball the ratio but it’s a really diluted solution. About 1 tablespoon of bleach per 1 gallon of water (about 1:256). We use just the basic Clorox, if you have a more concentrated bleach you probably would want to dilute it more. It doesn’t take much!
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your knowledge and expertise! I am a fan! Can you share what the ratio of bleach:water your disinfecting solutions are?
Hi Alison! I eyeball the ratio but it’s a really diluted solution. About 1 tablespoon of bleach per 1 gallon of water (about 1:256). We use just the basic Clorox, if you have a more concentrated bleach you probably would want to dilute it more. It doesn’t take much!
Hi Dolly! You most definitely can plant the entire clump if you would prefer, eventually you may want to cut the clump into halves or quarters to keep them happy and producing 🙂
It’s a typical suggestion to divide every 2-3 since they make quite a few tubers each season it could just make it a little crowded, difficult to replant and impact flowering. The biggest concern is other tubers rotting and infecting others so even without actually dividing I would recommend cleaning up the clump of any that could cause rotting in storage. Happy dahlia growing!
I live in zone 10 do i need to remove during winter? I have some growing from seeds and see there are 3 to 4 plants coming up together, can I dig them up, seperate and put in individual pots? Not sure if that isa bad idea. I hope you can help me? Thank you so much for your help.
Dahlias are hardy down to zone 9 and we’ve even overwintered some here in our zone 6b so lifting is not necessary unless you want to divide clumps. I would separate the seedlings or pinch the extras out 🙂
I see after cleaning the tuber, letting them dry, you place the tuber into a water solution in a plastic bin. Does the water contain a mixture of Clorox (1 tablespoon/gallon of water) ? Thank you
Hi Kevin! After we clean up the tubers and divide we do put them in a diluted bleach solution about 1:256 bleach:water so your ratio sounds about right! It doesn’t take much and only needs to be in the solution for a few minutes, it’s just to help kill surface bacteria which helps with rotting in storage. Then after the solution, we remove them and let them dry fully to the touch before placing in storage. Making sure the tubers are dry enough without getting too dried out is a balancing act that you become more intuitive as you experience it. Hope this helps and happy dahlia dividing!
Hiya, one question, when you divide the tuber in half and so on, if it's hard to see the eyes, do you still cut them in half or store them all first and divide them in spring?
Hi there! When in doubt I divide the tubers the same (you get pretty good at spying even shy eyes) but if I’m not sure I go ahead and store them anyways. You can keep the clumps whole, divide them in halves or quarters if you want to see them eye up for better dividing in spring. I typically prefer fall/winter dividing since spring can get hectic for us and I like to have an idea of what varieties I’m going to have. Hope my rambling answered your question!
@@sierraflowerfarm Hi, thanks for the reply, so when i can't see the eyes (fall/winter dividing), if i still go ahead and cut then in half and quarters (without knowing if i cut the eyes or not) then store them for spring, will they form eyes and hope luck is on my side? Sorry i have a bit of difficulties explaining what i meant, hopefully these make sense
If you really doubt if there are eyes, I would maybe not risk fall dividing and wait for them to eye up better in spring. If you cut through the eye, the tuber won’t be viable. If the tuber doesn’t have eyes, they will not develop over time. The eyes are already developed and there it can just be a little tricky to see but in spring when they start “waking up” they will become more prominent. I hope I answered your question! 🙂
