Storing Dahlia Tubers - Saran Wrap Method - December 2024

2024 was the season of the dahlia in our garden.  And, it is also going to be the 'season of trying to save the dahlia tuber'.   We garden in Zone 6a/5b.  That changed earlier this year when our neighborhood (yes...neighborhood) was reclassified from USDA Zone 5B to Zone 6A.  I wrote a post about that change earlier this year and talked about how less than a mile away, the listing was kept at 5B, but our spot was upgraded to 6A.

According to Longfield Gardens, you can overwinter dahlia tubers in Zone 8 to Zone 10, which means that our climate is far too cold to keep these tubers in the ground from freezing to death.  

That means that I'm faced with a choice:  dig them up and try to save them.  Or...leave them in the ground and (VERY LIKELY) lose them to Winter.  I say "VERY LIKELY" because....there's a TINY chance that the tubers survive our Winter due to one (or more) of a couple of variables:  We *could* get a very mild Winter.  (That's ALREAY NOT TRUE, so that ones out), they could get 'insulated' in some way like via a thick mulch or....there could be a unique, microclimate that exists which allows for the protection of the tuber.

The dig option means trying to fork the tubers out and preserving them during the Winter.  There are several methods of storing Dahlia tubers - from tucking them into a medium like wood chips to leaving them in their native dirt to washing them and wrapping them in something to preserve them during the Winter.

The goal is to hit the right spot on both an X and Y axis.

Let's call the X-Axis:  temperature.

Let's call the Y-Axis:  moisture.

First temperature:  the tubers want to be stored between 40 and 50 degrees, ideally.  But, they need to stay ABOVE freezing.  And, below 50 for most of the Winter.  

Then...moisture: the goal is to retain ENOUGH moisture to prevent the tubers from drying out and becoming shriveled little balls, but NOT too much that they ROT.

After reading dozens of dahlia tuber overwintering posts and watching a bunch of YouTube videos, I made a decision to do a couple of things:  dig up some and leave some in-place.

I'm betting on that 'microclimate' on the southside of our house.  My plan is to insulate the tubers like I've done with the Disneyland Roses before - with leaves and biosolids. 

And the ones in the front porch bed and IB2DWs?  I dug those up. 

My plan to store them is to use saran wrap.  Here's a post outlining the process.  

The suggestion is to wrap EACH tuber individually, but...just like leaving some outside and digging some up, I'm hedging on that part, too.  That means that I wrapped up some CLUMPS and also wrapped up individual tubers.  

Below is a look at the Saran-Wrapped dahlia tubers that I'm going to keep in the garage:

I'm going to put them into a garden trug and tuck them away in the garage for Winter.  I think that's all that I can do - just hope.  I'll check on them, but if they go mushy - I don't think I can save them.  

Live and learn, I guess?

Oh...and order more Dahlia tubers, right???