Sob! Death Due to Freeze :(

I lost my Sunshine and Monrovia (sob!). They were both in containers that were close to the house so I thought they would be ok. I guess a blistering 3F and consistent night time dippy below temps did them in. Just a heads up for those who are getting freezing temps now. Don't wait too long!

So, question due to my weather ignorance-does that mean you lost your tubers or just your plants? I'm guessing by your sadness you mean the tubers. Just brief exposure to frozen temps kills them (versus season-long freezing, I mean)?

Aww...Sorry, dnut. I am mentally playing 'Taps' (if I do it aloud, my coworkers might wonder...) and a stand and salute for your lost soldiers.

Yes the tubers froze (sniff). I had a little memorial service at the compost pile. All else were firm and tuberlifik and are now tucked snug in their beds in the cold room to sleep for the winter.

Sorry Les. That's how I lost my d. imperialis last year- it was in a big whiskey barrel so I thought it was pretty insulated. All it took was a blizzard and prolonged coolness and the tuber mass was toast. Cold toast :( Sorry you lost some of your dahlia treasures and sorry it's so cold! Still waiting for even a light frost here, but getting impatient.

Question.... This is my 2nd year to grow dahlias,last year i had 2 small variety ones.. I mulched them and they came back very nicely this year.... I bought a DP one about 2 months ago.. Planted it and it did good tho no blooms this year.... I received some tubers yesterday, should I over winter these somewhere cool or do you think they will be ok in the ground since we rarely get freeezing weather here? Think I should dig up the established DP one or mulch it like I did the short varieties last year? Sorry for the loss of your dahlias.... They are such beautiful plants...

Dahlianut - sorry about your loss! The ones that are put away for the winter, do you keep them on the dry side, or do you spritz them once in a while to keep them moist?

Dahlianut: What a bummer. I'm watching this thread because I have dahlias for the first time this year and want to keep them for next year. Can someone tell me the best way to do this. So far there has been no frost but I know it's going to be soon. Thanks for any info you can give me.

Betty

There are many different mediums that can be used for storing but which works best for you is going to depend on the humidity in your storage area. Here is a good article. http://www.dahlias.net/dahwebpg/TuberStor/TuberStor4.htm
I use slightly moistened vermiculite in sealed freezer bags in my cold room because it is so dry here. I check my tubers monthly and mist if they begin to shrivel. If you have humid conditions you would probably want to use a completely dry medium or your tubers might rot. Dry peat, wood shavings, vermiculite all work.
No matter what medium you use tubers should be stored in the dark in a place that is above freezing but below 50F. My cold room is about 45F. If you don't have a place in that temperature range some members have put the bags of tubers in their medium in styrofoam coolers and placed the coolers against an outside wall in their heated garage or basement. If your tubers are too warm your dahlias will break dormancy 3-4 months after being stored (been there/done that).
There is another method using plastic wrap that some members have tried. I haven't yet. Here's an article on that. http://www.dahlia.org/index.php?page=saran-wrap-tuber-storage

huneybunch it sounds like you are doing great with mulching so I wouldn't mess with a good thing ^_^ You can plant tubers now if it is cool enough. They will just stay dormant and develop when the soil warms up.

Very good information article in the TuborStor link.
Answers my questions.
Thank you
Charleen