Why I Oughta...

In mid-April, I began the process of potting up my dahlia tubers for the year.  They are MOSTLY tubers that I have grown in previous years that I dug up and stored over winter using the Saran Wrap method .  I began by trying to divide the tubers into viable 'clumps'.  After watching a bunch of YouTube videos, I learned that tubers need to also have part of the 'neck' attached to them in order for an 'eye' to sprout.  Without that 'eye', the tuber is 'blind' and won't ever put up shoots.   I ended up potting up close to 100 tubers in one-gallon nursery containers and after watering the potting mix (just a little bit), carried them all down to my basement to begin what I call 'sprout watch' .   From what I understand, these tubers (if they are viable) have enough energy stored in them to produce the initial growth and don't need too much water in order to begin their annual cycle.  Too much water and you end up rotting the tuber, so...

I went and picked up more dahlia tubers.  These would be (I think) 25 + 7 + 2 = 33rd and 34th new tuber for the season .    Here is my initial order from Bonny Blooms .  Then, a few more from Longfield Gardens .    Then, I bought some more from Longfield from Costco .  And, most recently these seven from Menards .   I also wrote this post showing some of the other tubers Menards carries and mentioned a few that jumped out to me.  The first one in that post is named Blue Wish.  And... I said : "This is one that I will buy if I go back." Bad news for dahlia haters.  I went back. And bought a package of two Blue Wish Tubers. They are waterlily dahlias.  That stay under 36" tall.   I'll find a home for them, I'm sure.   Here's what Breck's says about it : An elegant, colour-changing, water lily-type dahlia. A true spectacle in the garden, this dahlia's 4½" blooms transform from delicate white petals ...

Dahlia season is coming fast.  Or, at least it is feeling like it is coming fast to this gardener.  The past two seasons, I've started my tubers indoors, well ahead of the last frost date (around Mid-May here).  In 2024, I started them in early May.  There were only six tubers  to start.  How quaint.  Looks like I ended up with twelve total .  I planted them outdoors in June 2024 .   Last year, in 2025, I also planted them up starting indoors.  In early May .  By mid-May they were showing signs of growth .  I began to harden-the-off towards the end of May and (like 2024), planted them outside in the beginning of June .  Last year, I also pinched them all back to try to get bush-ier growth.   My plan for 2026 is to follow a similar trajectory, but I'm thinking I can start them even earlier.  Like mid-April.  The last frost date varies around here , but generally is between the middle and end of May....

I've been holding on to a couple of dahlia tubers that I potted up weeks ago.  In one two-gallon nursery pot was a pair of Pablo Gallery border dahlias ( That is also home to a tiny Zinnia seedling that I tucked into the middle.  I was experimenting with 'thinning' out my Zinnia seedlings to see if I could succesfully pull one out and transplant it.  Seems to be working... ).   I originally set out the large variety of dahlia tubers (that I started indoors) in early June - after the last threat of frost .  I planted five Pablo Gallery border dahlias in the patio bed in back.  I put another one in the side yard.  And, gave one away to my Mom.  That left these two to find a new home.  After sitting on them for weeks, I decided to plant them up in the front yard.  In the back of the Island Bed. These photos are from late June, despite this post going up in early July.  Here, below, are the Pablo Gallery dahlias showing some growth...

Five weeks ago, I potted up a number of stored-over-Winter dahlia tubers and a bunch of new-to-us purchased tubers in one-gallon nursery pots . I kept them inside for the month of May and by mid-month many of them were showing signs of life with new growth .  As June began, I started to harden off the dahlias with increasing time outside.  Eventually, leading to leaving them outside, overnight for a few nights.   Then...it was time to plant them.  Here's a look at the dahlias we are growing out on the patio getting hardened off: Hardening off dahlias that we started indoors a month earlier.   I have planted twenty-one (21) dahlia tubers in six locations.  Yes...twenty-one dahlias.  EEEK.  That's A LOT more than last year.   I also gave away three (two Melina Fleur tubers, one Pablo Gallery tuber).  And....Left on the patio are some slow-to-start ones.  These six *might* come to life, or they might be DOA.  This i...

A couple weeks ago, I potted up a number of stored and newly purchased Dahlia tubers in one-gallon nursery pots .  All of the stored tubers (Melina Fleur Dahlias) from last year were stored over-winter in Saran Wrap in the garage and a few of them were already showing some growth/sprouts of new growth off the tubers.  That lead to some of them moving fast to show new foliage - above the soil - with new shoots of life.   See below for a few photos of the tubers growing new green growth.   After these put on a couple sets of leaves, I'll move them out of the basement and into the screened porch.  There, they'll get A LOT more light and a tiny bit of wind (when I open the windows) and can continue their growing process.  Once they put on another set of leaves out there, I'll begin to harden them off by putting them outside for an ever-increasing amount of time.   That means they'll be in the porch for 4-5 days, then begin to harden-off for ...

Late last year, I dug-up and attempted to store a number of dahlia tubers that had been in our beds all year-long.  This was the first time I had grown dahlias (in the ground) and also the first time that I attempted to "save" the tubers from one-season-to-the-next.   In this post from last December, I showed how I ended up using the "Saran Wrap Method" to attempt to preserve the tubers over Winter .  I dug up clumps of tubers, let them dry out just a little bit, left most of the soil on them then wrapped them and left them in the garage where the temps *usually* stay above freezing all Winter.   With Dahlia planting season fast-approaching (I have to wait until last Frost date to plant them - which is right around mid-May), I grabbed the box of tubers and went to check to see how they did?  Were they rotten?  Dried out and dead?   Turns out...neither.   They not only survived the Winter.  But....most of them were ALREADY ...

The last of the Dahlia tubers are in the ground:  I planted four Cornell Bronze Dahlias that I bought this past winter from Longfield Gardens.  I started them in nursery pots indoors, then moved those to the patio to get acclimated.    I've put in six Melina Fluer dahlias - three in the sideyard and three in the front porch bed .  Then, I put in four Orange Nugget dahlias in the new sideyard bed .  And, now I've put in four (2 in sideyard and 2 IB2DWs) Cornell Bronze dahlias.  13 total plants for the season.  Cut flower season. These are behind the others, but with a little water and a lot of sun, I'm thinking they'll close the gap quickly.