How to Remove Dahlia Bulbs
Dahlias, with their bright colors and plentiful blooms, are a delight in any garden or flower bed. Oftentimes called "bulbs," dahlias are actually tubers. While dahlias are a perennial, they usually won't live through a winter, as they easily succumb to frost. Once their showy bloom is over in September, the gardener has a choice: leave the plant in the ground, susceptible to frost and certain death, or remove the dahlia tubers and store over the winter, ready to plant again in the spring. A shovel, tined fork, garden shears and a gentle hand are all that are required to remove dahlias from your garden bed. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Wait until after the first frost, which will freeze tips. Using garden shears, cut dahlia foliage until 4 to 6 inches of the stem remains above ground.
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Cover the cut stalks with aluminum foil. Open stalks can accumulate water, which could lead to rot.
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Leave in the ground, stems covered, for several days, which will encourage the eyes to come out.
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Using a shovel, dig straight down on all four sides of the plant. Dig a large enough concentric circle around each dahlia plant to avoid hitting the large tubers, about 8 to 10 inches in diameter.
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Rock shovel back and forth, working clump loose and shaking off extraneous earth. Insert tined fork underneath the tuber clump and bend tined fork back to free clump of tubers and earth.
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Lift, holding the stem stub gently. The fragile nature of dahlias means that the stem stub can be easily broken. Dahlias with broken stem stubs won't survive. Brush as much surrounding earth away from the tubers.
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Use your selected method to prepare your dahlia bulbs for overwintering. Some specialists suggest washing off all extraneous dirt from the tubers with a garden hose to rid the tubers of soil-born pests. Others suggest allowing the earth to dry on the tubers in a cool environment. The dried earth will fall away from the tubers.
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Tips & Warnings
Wayne Holland, a dahlia grower and breeder from British Columbia, suggests using a shovel instead of a tined fork to pry the dahlia from the earth. Roots radiating from the tubers can keep hold of the earth and snap the tuber. Digging around the plant with a sharp shovel will cut the strong roots and protect the delicate tubers.
If danger of a hard frost is present, do not leave dahlias in the earth after trimming the plant. Instead, remove the day the plants are trimmed.
