Protecting the Dahlia Tubers for the Winter
My dahlia tubers are now well-protected for the winter.
When in bloom, dahlias provide some of the garden's biggest and most spectacular flowers in many different sizes, forms, and colors. However, native to Mexico, dahlias are not winter-hardy and tend to split in freezing temperatures or mold in soggy, wet soil. In most areas outside the warmest regions of the United States, dahlia tubers must be dug up and stored or covered before the cold season. In previous years, we've always uprooted our dahlias and kept them indoors for the winter. Now, we cover the entire bed with burlap and a thick layer of hay. It's proven to be a great solution for protecting the plants so we have viable dahlias come spring.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
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- Remember all the gorgeous, colorful dahlias we had this year? Dahlias are among my favorite flowers. They begin to bloom with great profusion just as other plants pass their prime, and they last right up until the first frost – this season, they lasted through October.
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- The dahlia garden is located behind my vegetable greenhouse, in an area protected from any damaging winds.
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- Last month, my gardeners Ryan and Brian cut all the stems down and left them to dry. Always wait until the foliage has turned brown before any winterizing. This is important so that the plant can gather energy for the following year. It will store starches in the tuber which will fuel the initial sprouting in summer. The best time is a couple weeks after the first frost when they’re well into dormancy yet haven’t been harmed by the cold.
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- Dahlia stems are hollow making them quickly susceptible to rot. This is also why dahlias often have to be staked to help support their very large flowers.
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- Last year, we decided to protect them in place instead of uprooting them and putting them in the basement – and it worked. The first step is to cover the bed with old burlap – burlap fabric that was too timeworn to use as boxwood coverings. We save these older pieces in a dry area of barn, so they can be repurposed. I always try to reuse, repurpose or recycle everything at the farm.
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- Here is Phurba covering every area of the bed with burlap.
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- Phurba also cuts small slits around the granite posts. If you follow this blog regularly, you may recall this area was previously used for growing grapes.
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- I grow a lot of hay here at the farm. The newer bales for my horses are kept in the stable hayloft; however, the bales that my horses won’t eat are stored here above my run-in shed. This hay is saved and used to help winterize the hoop houses and these dahlia tubers.
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- The bales are delivered to the dahlia bed in large batches.
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- And then wheeled manually and carried to their designated row. Each standard two-string square hay bale weighs between 40 and 75 pounds each.
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- The two work from the front side to the back, lining the bales neatly over the burlap and the dahlia tubers.
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- Brian ensures the bales are positioned tightly together – it is important to cover the area completely, so the tubers are well-insulated. This process takes several hours to complete.
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- This thick layer of hay acts as a barrier to protect the plants, much like a thick layer of soil or mulch would do.
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- Phurba walks over the hay to look for any wide gaps. Any spaces between the bales are filled with loose flakes of hay.
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- Next, to keep excess moisture from saturating the tubers, Brian and Phurba also cover the bales. They uses old tarps, also saved from another project.
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- Brian and Phurba spread the tarps across the bed and in between the posts.
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- Phurba and Brian put down the next tarp, overlapping it slightly with the first one making sure it all looks neat, tidy, and covered.
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- To keep the tarps in place, Brian ties them down with strong twine.
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- He secures the tarp at the corners and then across the bed every few feet down its entire length.
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- Protecting them this way now will make sure we have lots of healthy plants next spring. And, we covered them just in time – the temperatures dipped over the weekend and we saw the first snowflakes of the season here at the farm. How are you protecting your dahlias this year? I’d love to know – share your methods in the section below.
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