Can you dig dahlias and store before a frost? Divide?

I am new to this site and I have to dig up some plants that are still in full bloom. We may not have a frost till the end of Nov. Has anyone done this? Should I cut off the folliage/and can I divide the tubers now?
Thanks, Lehua

Just wait until the end of Nov. then. I don't cut mine down until then.
Carol

I am cutting and digging right now- no frost yet. It is just too cold and wet for me to be out there for weeks in freezing weather if I wait. The shock of cutting the plant off is the equivalent to a hard frost; the tubers act the same, as far as I can tell. If you leave them in the ground 4-8 days after cutting and before digging it gives the eyes a chance to show up a bit. Seems to work. I am going to push that window to 3 days though because we have rain, rain, and more rain coming and I want to get started.

Sure is hard to cut down all those blooms. I wince as each one falls.

This week-end will be my first time at digging and splitting Dahlias. We had our first hard frost last night. They are starting to turn brown today. I am sad to see them go. I sure hope I have good luck storing them over winter. It seems a little difficult. The more I read, the more anxious I it get. I hope I'm not saying good-bye instead of good-night.

I've got 12 that are in pots, which is how I got them, 3 to 4 ft high. Now many of the the leaves are dying or dead, there are still some blooms and buds. we've had a light frost, but being as they are in 12" pots, can I begin to cut them down now? I dread this, as it is the first for me, growing dahlias and I feel like a mother hen. I don't want to hurt them! But they do not look happy in this condition.

I have had some in pots and I dig them up and store them whenever I want. I kind of treat them a little different from the ground ones. If the leaves are dying back, go ahead and dig and store. If you cut them down, don't forget to put like foil over the open stems while you let them kind of cure for a few days. Then dig them.
They will be just fine.
Carol

Hi djm, sounds like normal die back to me. I have a few whose bottom leaves are yellow and limp, if not outright brown and slimy.
You can cut them down. I'd treat them in a pot, just like those in the garden bed. Let them sit protected from rain that could go down the open cut stalks for several days to two weeks to encourage eyes. I've been digging as soon as 48 hours and have no problem finding eyes, if they're there to be found.

Here is a terrific article on growing dahlias in pots.
http://www.dahlia.org/seasonal.guides/dahlias%20in%20Pots.html
I'm going to post a separate post with it too, for those interested. Do you have any other advice for growing in pots? Sounds like you have had good results.

Don't fret too much about your tubers. Aside from potential breakage of necks getting the clump out of the pot, or setting it down on a surface and breaking a neck, they are really durable little customers. Anything that breaks off, likely wouldn't have been a good tuber anyway- too skinny, too fragile. Focus on the heartier ones with eyes, don't rip the skins and you'll do fine.
Annie

would someone please tell me the best way to store my dahlia tubers?
thank you

tusseemussee- see this link for the how to's on Saran Wrap method or other methods. It really, really works and well worth it if you have lots of tubers, and no space to store them all whole.
http://rain.prohosting.com/midahlia/No_Fuss.htm

In that article is a link to digging and dividing also. Or you can go here for their input:
http://www.dahlias.net/dahwebpg/TuberStor/TuberStor1.htm

Thank you so much Poochella for the information and wonderful links you provided. I had incredible Dahlias this year and wanted to save them if possible.

I asked a friend of mine who shows and judges dahlias how she located the eyes when she was dividing the clumps. She had these suggestions:

Great tip Candy. I need one of those magnifiers for driving, let alone reading or dividing dahlia tubers.

I'll give that paintbrush trick a whirl in the next few days. If in doubt, I save a tuber because for the little effort it takes to do so, I might get a plant out of the deal next Spring when it's warmer and lighter and the eye decides to show itself better. I'm really finding that waiting only 2 days to dig after cutting down is giving me tubers that are much easier to cut into, and just as easy to see eyes as with a week of waiting. In our recent rain storms, I might need an Ark or riverboat to get to the gardens in another week. Ahoy... welcome to Washington in November.

And December....and January.....and February........LOL

I am saving the ones I am not sure of, too. But I am wrapping them separately from the ones with eyes and marking them with '? eyes'. I don't want to be sending trades from that group unless I see eyes swelling in the spring.

Great info. Thanks

Candy, that's exactly what I put on my tubers for easy reference next spring "? eye." I had pretty good luck with those '?' ones too. Some are just slow to show up, and some never do.

That is good to know. I hope I get surprised with a lot of eyes that I didn't know were there. LOL I am trying to err on the side of caution; if I have any doubt I put them in the ? pile.

Oh dear< I guess I had better get started! Taking up the first one will probably be traumatic! But gotta do it! Thanks for the above tips.

I've gotten the tubers out of the ground. 9 out of 12 not bad. Only 3 were mushy. Some clumps have little tubers coming out from a bigger one. Do I take those off? I am letting them dry right now, just did this yesterday. I need to find some fungicide to dust them. Nursery didn't have any, tried to sell me something else. Maybe I better reread those instructions again. Oh good grief! Just remem bered I have a red cactus one on the side of the house that I forgot about!!!! It was 15 degrees this morning and only got up to 20. I better go and see if the ground is not too hard to dig it up.
Doris

Doris BRRRRR! That is cold for a poor cactus, and I don't even know about cacti- but I cry 'COLD!'

9 out of 12 is good.

You can cut the little tubers off the main tuber if that main tuber is connected to the eye/s. I just did this and let the cuts dry, dusted in sulphur dust and wrapped as usual, or store as usual.
Roots should still come out of the main tuber next year, provided it survives.

I hope this photo isn't gigantic...

Wow, that is some tuber! I can see the eyes. I wasn't sure if mine had any but decided any bumps or marks were "eyes". But now I will check more closely. Most of my tubers are more long shaped as they come out from the main one, sort of like fingers. Do I detach the fingers? The one I forgot and went out to dig had a large tuber and thick arms, but I sliced one third of one tuber off with the shovel. Will this one still grow? I think there may be a few more pieces that I didn't get up and will go out and check. It is warmer this morning, expected top go up to 35, after yesterday when it was so cold! The tubers I took out of their pots day before yester day are beginning to look kind of wrinkley and slightly soft . Is it almost time to wrap them? thanks for the info, now I am back to study the picture again! Doris

Hi Doris,
The eyes that you can see will be slightly raised, pale white/yellow/pink colored and some you can't see at all but will show up next Spring in the sun and warmer weather. If in doubt, I save them, mark them "?eye?" so I know not to plant them next year until I'm sure they're viable.

You can save the cut off one. I've been hacking off some of the real fat or long ones, just for easier storage. Make a clean cut with a knife, let it dry a few hours so it's dry to the touch and store.
Although it's nice to get surprises if those tubers left behind underground survive and sprout next year, I like to dig around and make sure the hole is empty so I'm not planting another dahlia on top of a 'surprise' one that made it through Winter.

I think "Wrinkly and slightly soft" sounds too dry. You just want them just dry to touch, and some people don't even bother with that. Try misting all sides of your wrinkly tubers, cover with newspaper or even a plastic bag or two, remist at intervals; for a day. If they are indoors, they're probably getting too warm/dry too. It would be better to let them stay cooler, but not freeze until you can wrap them, or store them.

"Most of my tubers are more long shaped as they come out from the main one, sort of like fingers. Do I detach the fingers?" The tubers need to come off the stalk or collar/thickened material around the stalk to have eyes, sometimes the eyes are found on the underside of the clump too. A tuber coming off a larger tuber will not have eyes, as far as I know, and can be cut off. The larger tuber may have eyes and can be saved.
If your 'fingers' are normal, elongated tubers coming off the stalk area then YES those should be saved.
What a bunch of trouble these little babies are, no? But so worth it in the summer! Good luck on your clumps.
Annie

Okay!! So over the last few weeks, I cut 'em back, dug 'em up, divided 'em up, and wrapped 'em up!! I don't have many varietes, but I think I got quite a few tubers with eyes... this will be my first year storing them over the winter. Our weather is such I usually leave them in the ground. But I knew they needed dividing, plus I had gopher problems last spring, so THIS IS IT!! I'm excited about seeing what spring will bring with this storage method.... I love all of you and all the information the forum provides!

Sanna