Checking in - dahlia tubers in storage
My messy work station in the garage…burr!!
You lifted, washed, divided, labeled and put those tubers to bed for a long winters nap. Phew, now comes the time of rest!! Ahem…sorry, no. Yes, they are stored in medium of your choice (peat? vermiculite? wood shavings?) and in a nice dark, cool (40-50 °F, relative humidity of 75–85%) space but (here comes another one of life’s big buts) you will need to pull those bins out and check your tubers. A good plan is to start every two weeks after you first store them.
The first year I stored in peat and newspaper, layered in cardboard boxes, just like I had seen a respected grower store their tubers. One big difference, I didn’t check them at all. Not once that entire winter. Come springtime…SO MUCH ROT!! Heartbreaking for sure, but lesson learned for double sure! My second year storing dahlia tubers I was sort of freaked out by the thought of having to open these bins up. I had perfectly placed them in the bins so they didn’t touch, side-to-side and top-to-bottom. Now I have to undo all of this work?? Yes, you do.
As you can see, I set up a little work station. Because I store in vermiculite, I wear a mask (you should too!)
Tools needed:
Mask (I store in vermiculite, loads of nasty dust)
Water mister (if the tubers are shriveling, I’ll lightly mist the vermiculite before I pack the bin back up)
Soft paint brush (to brush vermiculite away)
Magnifying glass (old eyes)
Cinnamon - cinnamon has natural antibacterial and fungicidal properties that can help prevent mold.
More vermiculite
Trash bin
So what are you looking for? This first pass I’m checking for everything:
MOLD - if there’s just a tiny spot of mold (usually on the crown) I’ll just wipe it off and store on top. If a lot, trash bin.
ROT. Get rid of it NOW!
SHRIVELING. If the tubers seem to be drying out, I mist the vermiculite just a smidge, mix it all up and carry on.
EYES. After washing and dividing, I’m so weary from looking at tubers that I likely became overly hopeful that every tuber I kept had an eye. Here I’ll take that magnifying glass and really inspect any iffy tubers. There are plenty that end up in the trash bin. That’s okay! And if you’re really on the fence, keep it…it can’t hurt (so long as it’s a good looking tuber - not ‘rotty’) to keep it. Come springtime, you can presprout the iffy ones to see if they are viable.
After you’ve checked them every two weeks for awhile, and if things looks just fine (no mold, shriveling, rot) then you could ease off to once a month. Just be sure to use the same care to store them as you did that first time - no touching tubers!
