Lifting dahlias

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A brief return to the roots of this blog... 

Thinking back to this time last year, the Uk was gripped by fierce frosts. This year's autumn has been much gentler with a slow descent into winter. This has meant, that my dahlias have only just been lifted.

The last lot to be dug up was in the mystery garden and I had remembered to bring a fully charged camera along.

Within a few nights of slight frost, the dahlias have gone from this

... to this

Not very attractive but perfect for lifting.

The first job to do is to remove the string. I simply snip through each round and pull it out.

Next I cut back the thick stems to about 10 to 15cm from the ground, ready for the compost heap.

Next, take out the canes, clean up ends, remove any bits of string and store for next year.

Last, with a garden fork, I carefully life the tubers out of the ground. Remove excess soil.

Attach a label, especially if you grow more than one variety, so they can be replanted in the right spot next Spring. I am using flexi-ties and black labels as they can be reused year on year, one side has the client name, the other the variety.

I bring my tubers indoors in a cool room for several weeks, to let the tubers dry out. When the soil on them is bone dry and falls off and the tubers have dried out and shrunk a bit in size, they will be boxed up and stored in a cool and dark room until about March/April next year.