· Dahlias · Autumn
Lifting the dahlia tubers
The first frost blackened the dahlias on Tuesday. Here is how we lift, label and store four hundred tubers for next year.
The first frost came on Tuesday night, and by morning the dahlia beds had turned black. It is a sad sight, but it is also the signal: time to lift.
Lift, wash, label
We cut the stems to a hand’s height, ease each clump out with a fork, and wash off the soil. Every clump gets a tag with its name before anything else happens: unlabelled dahlias are a mystery by spring.
Store them cool and dry
The tubers dry upside down for a few days, then go into crates of barely damp compost in the barn, where it stays above freezing. We check them once a month for rot.
In April they come out, get divided, and the whole thing starts again.