Mid-Atlantic Gardening: Holly and Rics Swap Followup Plant Questions- "what is...?", 1 by wind

wind wrote:
DAHLIA TUBERS
Whoever got the 'Party Girl' dahlia tubers, the color is pinkish and the blooms get 6-8". I like to put a bamboo pole stake in at the time I plant the tuber so it doesn't get jabbed when you have to stake it later. All the tubers I brought will grow tall dahlias :)

They are really easy to dig up and save too. I do it after a hard frost and store the tubers in a box or old pot with peat moss. I never fuss with them and they are always fine. I just plunk them in and cover with the peat moss, I don't even rinse them off because then mold can be a problem. I usually put the box or pot in a large plastic trash bag too (so they don't dry out) and keep it in our basement.

If you really get into growing dahlias, you can look up (online) how to divide the tubers. If you can't find it, just let me know, I can scan and send you a copy of the directions. It's very easy and divided tubers yield the largest blooms.

...Nisi & Kat, this is sunflower 'Sparky'
edited to add: (photo copyright (c)2009 Thompson & Morgan, I featured this in one of my DG articles http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/2329/)

This message was edited May 18, 2009 8:56 AM