Congratulations! You have embarked into the beautiful and wonderful world of growing dahlias. Dahlias can be a lot of work but they are so worth it! Here are a few of our tips and tricks we use here at Camelot Flower Plot.

Upon Arrival: Immediately open the box and open each of the individually labeled tuber bags. If you are not ready to plan yet store the tubers in a cool dark place until planting time. Tubers start to wake up around 60 degrees, so keep this in mind for your storage location. If you are ready to plant, keep reading!

Storage: We have a saying here: Dahlias are Divas! Think of your dahlia tuber storage like Goldilocks and the 3 bears, they don’t like things too hot or too cold, they need to be just right. We have found the tubers store best at a temperature of 40 degrees. DO NOT let the tubers get below freezing as they will turn to mush. We store ours in vermiculite (if you purchased from us it is the material inside the bags) that is slightly damp and we monitor through the storing season. We store them in plastic shoe boxes and if we notice them getting too dry we add more water to the vermicultie and if they are showing signs of being too wet we open the tote lids to ensure the excess moisture can escape.

Planting: Dahlias need to be planted outside after your last frost and after the soil has warmed up to over 60 degrees. Dahlias need full sun so choose a location that receives at least 8hrs of sunlight. You’ll want to make sure the soil is not soaking wet but you don’t want it bone dry either, so watch the weather and plan your planting date accordingly. Dig a hole that is 4-6” deep and space your tubers 12-18” apart. If you plan to support your dahlia(s) this is also a great time to place your support in or near the hole you dug. Place your tuber into the prepared hole on its side (horizontally) and if you can see the eye (like a swelling dark spot) place the eye of the tuber facing up. If you can’t see the eye, nature will find a way so do not fret. Carefully cover the hole with soil and don’t forget to label your plant…you’ll thank yourself later.

Watering: Patience! It may take 4-6 weeks before you see anything happening. If you planted your tubers in nice moist soil, DO NOT WATER until you see the 1st set of leaves. However, if you live in a particularly dry area you can lightly water. Just keep in mind that over watering will likely rot the tuber. Once you see your 1st set of leaves, you’ll want to water them at least twice a week. Make sure to consider Mother Nature’s watering and adjust your manual watering accordingly.

Other Notes: Dahlias benefit from “pinching”. Once your plants are between 8-12” tall, you’ll want to snip (pinch) off the top 3-4” of the central shoot just above a set of leaves. This feels counterintuitive, but by pinching back the main stem, you’re telling the plant to start producing more branches at the base rather than the top and you’ll get longer, more usable stems. The further down you cut, the longer the next stems will be. The more you cut, the more you’ll get…so cut cut cut away! Sometimes, you give up a couple of new buds but the rewards you reap will be totally worth it.

Dahlias benefit from a low-nitrogen fertilizer every 3-4wks to promote a strong and healthy plant. We typically don’t start to fertilize until after we have pinched the plant. When looking at fertilizer, you will see 3 numbers. Nitrogen is the 1st number listed so look for a product with the lowest 1st number.

If you see a slug problem, typically at the beginning of the plants life, try using Sluggo Plus. It’s a certified organic product that also helps with pincher bugs (also known as earwigs).

Powdery mildew can set in late in the growing season here in West Michigan. If you are struggling with the same issue, removing the lower sets of leaves and clearing debris from around the plant can help open it up for better airflow to prevent this.

At the end of the season, after we’ve experienced our 1st hard frost, we cut the main stock down to about 12” and carefully lift the tubers out of the ground using a pitch fork. We will either wash, dry for 24hrs or store them with dirt still on them in plastic totes with course vermiculite. Our winters tend to be a bit dry so we’ll lightly mist the vermiculite before storing them away. Make sure to store them in a place that does not drop below 32 degrees and doesn’t exceed 55 degrees. Each area is different so make sure to do your research for what works best in your area for winter storage. Every few weeks, check on your tubers to make sure if there are any signs of storage failure (mold, significant shriveling) you can adjust your storage procedures. If you catch a problem in time, you can save your tubers and avoid significant loss.