Winter Protection for Dahlias - Care and Maintenance for Ongoing Colour

Dahlias are a great plant for any garden, creating a wide range of beautiful flowers in the summer and early autumn. However, if you just throw tubers in a border, you will often find that they fail by snail damage. A bit of care at this early stage of growth is vital, and growing plants in pots until they get a fair ball and many of the leaves is vital. Then they can be planted in a border, dead headed at times, and continued to prosper throughout the season.

With the onset of colder weather care for dahlias but does not stop, and winter care of tubers formed. If the leaves are again dahlias need some protection from frost and wet get into their system and allowing them to prevent rot. There are a few methods which should ideally be used for dahlias, and when to return growth next year, it's a good idea to take the time to protect yourself as I have discovered that the hope for the best just does not work in this case.
One method allows you to leave the tubers in situ, cutting all leaf back to the ground and cover the field of plastic pegs down. The theory is that the frost and wet gets into them, but still wet seep over so I can not see how this really works. I've never had luck with this method and would not recommend using it as your time and effort is usually met with disappointment when nothing appears in the spring.

A much better method is to lift, drying and storage of the tubers. I cut the stems back to a few centimeters from the base and then dry in a frost-proof and damp-free place for a few days to leave. While you can nest overwintering tubers on top of a thin layer of soil that I have found that simply wrap them in newspaper works best. Leave them in a cool, dry and frost free place over winter, such as a garage or shed and they'll be fine. The following spring, when green shoots begin to appear, you can simply unpack individual specimens and pot them up for planting later in the season.

I should never have been very successful at home, but have cared for a large number of customers dahlias in addition to taking extra care this year with my own, I am determined to continue. These plants may have a blousy and slightly old-skool appeal, but with a huge variety of flower and leave variations, they are worth the effort and care for incredible bloom in summer and autumn.