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Post by gardengirl6330 on Jun 9, 2015 19:58:37 GMT -5
Every year, I dig out my dahlias from my zone 6 garden, store them in my basement and replant in the spring. This past winter, I packed them in mulched leaves, rather than the shredded paper or peat that I've used successfully in the past. When I opened the Rubbermaid bin - ALAS! Almost every one of my bulbs had a long winding stem/root already growing. I planted them anyway, burying that stem (or root?), and have noticed that two weeks later, there are no green sprouts coming up. Just the sad, dried old stems sticking out of the ground. Did I ruin my crop by storing in leaves? Will they sprout this year? Help!
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Post by desertwoman on Jun 9, 2015 22:06:00 GMT -5
I've never grown dahlias but I wouldn't give up on them yet.
That was probably new growth you saw I've had other bulbs do that and they grew just fine.
I'm not clear, though. Did you completely bury those stems and you are now seeing them above ground? or are those dried old stems you see sticking out some of what you left above ground?
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Post by tbird on Jun 10, 2015 6:40:30 GMT -5
I tried storing them one year, and left on back porch/mudroom instead of the basement. Doh!
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Post by SpringRain🕊️ on Jun 10, 2015 9:43:47 GMT -5
Gardengirl, the dahlia sprouting can depend on other factors as well as time. How much rain have you had? Did you plant the dahlias in pots or in the ground? Was it in an area that's hosted plants before, i.e., not a newly worked area? Were the dahlias soaked a bit before planting? Were the tubers dried up, shriveled up? Are there any sprouts at all?
I would gently part the soil to see if there are any sprouts and if the tubers are dry; if no and no, water it well and give it another week or so. I'm also assuming that the tuber is planted at the same depth as you normally would plant?
My experience with overwintering dahlias has been that they don't last in my basement; they shrivel up and die, but it's easy to see that because they look dead!
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Post by OregonRed on Jun 10, 2015 10:11:41 GMT -5
I'm in zone 6 too, and I over winter mine in the community garden with leaves.
this year, I purchased one, and planted it about a month ago, maybe more, and nothing yet.... oh well ... I'm one of those , let mother nature do her thing , type people.
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Post by gardengirl6330 on Jun 10, 2015 15:22:51 GMT -5
Thanks, everyone, for the feedback. I plant them in the ground, 4-5 inches down, and we've had an unusually rainy spring. In past years I've seen fresh green growth quite quickly -within a couple of weeks, thus my concern. However, I think it's good advice to uncover a couple of them and see what's going on. Then, I guess it's just wait and see...for future reference, if you'd like to be able to store over the winter, I highly recommend burying them in paper from your shredder, in a tightly sealed Rubbermaid, stick it in the basement and forget about them for six months. Has worked like a charm for me (which explains why I changed it up - AAAARGHH!!!!!!!!!!!!).
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