What should I do with my Dahlia Tubers?
If you’re new to growing dahlias and are unsure what to do with them, here are all of our tips! The video above talks you through each tip from what to do now, how to store them and when to plant. Be sure to click Subscribe to our Youtube Channel so you’ll be the first to know when we post the next video in the dahlia series. Dahlias are one of our all time favorite cutting garden flowers because of the sheer amount of blooms they produce each season. I promise they are not hard to grow and take care of, we’ll be gardening right alongside you so you’ll know exactly what to do and when. Plus if you’re hoping to add some dahlias to your cutting garden we have our favorite varieties available in our Shop. Click Here to see all the beauty.
How to Store Your Dahlia Tubers until you plant them
To start, open any boxes or bags that they were shipped in and check your Dahlia Tubers. Make sure they didn’t break in shipment and then find a spot in a cool dry corner of your garage to store them. Do not store them in a fridge or a shed that is not insulated. Until dahlia tubers are planted, they like to be stored in a cool dry spot completely covered in the wood shavings or the vermiculite they were shipped in.
Here’s how you know it’s time to plant your Dahlia Tubers:
your weather is consistently 65 degrees or higher
AND make sure you are past any chance of freezing night time temperatures. Sometimes, here in our area we can get a few really nice warm days randomly in March but it’s not consistently in the 60’s. Don’t be fooled by a few nice days.
Every growing zone has a different sweet spot for when you should plant your dahlias. Here in the PNW we plant ours the end of April through the beginning of May.
Where and How should you plant the tubers?
Dahlias will bloom and grow the happiest in full sun. If they do not get at least 6+ hours of sun they will grow spindly and lanky and produce less flowers. If you’re growing in a hot climate like Texas or Arizona, it’s okay if your dahlias get a bit of shade in the afternoon. Your sun is so much more intense than our Pacific Northwest Sunshine. Here in our area, our dahlias get sun from the minute it rises until it goes behind our tree line around 6pm and they need every ounce of that sunshine to grow happy. I LOVE encouraging gardeners to talk with locals who grow dahlias. Not only will you find a new friend, but you’ll learn valuable tips for your growing area. There are some basic tips that apply to everyone, everywhere, and then there are local secrets that only the folks growing in your community know! What better friends to make than garden loving, dahlia growing friends!
Click here for a full video tutorial on how to plant - be sure to snag a bag of BoneMeal so you have it on hand when you plant your tubers.
Click Here for the link to our full dahlia essentials shopping list : we love having tags on hand to mark the area we planted the dahlia, sluggo to use at the first glimpse of the dahlia shoot emerging from the soil, stakes + flower netting for larger patches, or collapsable square cages for single dahlia plants, snips and more.
What do I do Next?
Click here for all of our Dahlia Tutorial Videos to help you all throughout the growing season. We’ll be diving into all of the questions from how to get dahlias to bloom more and do you actually need to dig it up at the end of the summer? There is so much fun to be had. Be sure to join our email list to get all of this fun sent straight to your inbox. We love living life seasonally and share all the goodness of each season with our email penpals. What a gift to live life alongside you!
