October Dahlia Guide
Who doesn’t love a dahlia? Their blooms bring a variety of gorgeous colors to your garden from midsummer through fall. They are great for gardens in moderate to moist climates, and they can brighten up any sunny garden with a long growing season.
Dahlias are tuberous plants that are related to the sunflower and the daisy. They grow from small tubers that are planted in the spring. Dahlias are often considered a tender perennial that can be grown in cold areas of North America. They are well-suited to growing in hardiness zones 8 to 11. Check your hardiness zone here. They can also be treated as annuals and stored indoors.
You can get a pretty bouquet of dahlias by cutting the stems in the morning and placing them in a cool bucket of water. The more you use them, the more they will bloom.
Here’s your October guide for caring for dahlias:
You should have already cut your watering.
Check that your tags match your flower, and your plants are labeled for proper storage.
You will need to decide if you need to dig your tubers. If it’s likely the ground will freeze to the depth of the tubers, then make sure you dig and store them. If you have more moderate winters, you can protect your tubers by placing 6 inches of leaves, grass, compost, or other mulch over them after cutting the stalks close to the ground. However, ensure you have good drainage; otherwise, your tubers will most likely rot in your soil over winter.
Prepare for digging, dividing, and storage. You’ll need storage containers, shears, and something to store your dried tubers in.
Important Note: If you live in a very high humidity area (for example, it rains a lot), I would highly recommend storing your tubers in something dry like pine or cedar shavings and not something moist like peat moss. I also would not recommend rinsing your tubers first. Instead, simply brush off the soil. YOU WANT YOUR TUBERS AS DRY AS POSSIBLE FOR WINTER STORAGE. This will help them from molding in storage. Sorry to yell at you, but this is the most critical thing you can do to protect your tubers in storage. If you must wash your tubers, make sure they are thoroughly dry before storing them.
Let me know if you have any questions below. 👇