Dahlias

Way back in April I planted ten dahlia tubers. I ordered them from Swan Island Dahlias here in Oregon. They arrived in a small box, each about 1-3 inches long. I planted them in front of our staircase in the front yard where it was nice and sunny.

Then it rained. A lot. And I worried that my lovingly planted dahlias might not make it.

But they did. All except one. They grew and grew and grew. They took over their little plot of land and probably would have taken over more were it not for the lawn. And they gave big beautiful flowers in a variety of colors. There were giant white ones and really pretty deep red ones. Some grew in clumps of smaller blooms. I cut blooms and had fresh flowers in the house every week. I loved them!

First bloom!

And I learned a lot. For instance, the small plot of dirt was too small for the nine plants. I needed to stake the dahlias as soon as they were tall enough. I actually had stakes in the ground but I failed to tie the dahlias to them in time. I should have written down which variety was planted where for future planting. Lots of little things.

So now is the time to dig up the dahlia tubers and store them for winter. Tubers are too fragile to leave in the ground for the winter--especially in a place as wet as ours. So I cut down the stalks and got out the pitchfork and started to dig.

I wasn't really expecting to pull up a hug clump of dirt and mud! My little 1-3 inch tubers multiplied like crazy! No wonder they were cramped!! I dug out all nine plants and then worked, in the rain, to get the dirt and mud off the roots and tubers. For the smaller plants it wasn't that hard. But for the bigger ones it was horrible!!! I'm still not sure exactly how I am going to store them this winter since the box I originally planned on using is way too small.

I can't get the stake out!

That's a lot of dividing to do!

But before I get to the box, I have to let them dry and then I have to divide the tubers--a task I have never done and one that is now looking way more daunting than it did when I read the instructions. This growing dahlias thing ended up being a lot more complicated than I thought it would be. But the flowers were beautiful and I can't wait to plant them again next year--assuming I don't accidentally kill them over the winter!