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Post by roofgardener on Dec 2, 2015 21:01:35 GMT
I DEFINATELY want them to grow in 2016 dianthus. Picks plantpot up.
Puts plantpot back down again.
I've never HAD plant tubers before. Well... unless the potatoes count.
Fidgets nervously with remote control and accidently turns lights off and on
Newspapers huh ? Ummm... tabloid, or broadsheet ? nevermindnevermind thatsprobablynotimportant...... Hessayon blithers on about taking cuttings when the tubers start sprouting. But presumably I can just re-pot them and they will grow ? |
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Post by daitheplant on Dec 2, 2015 21:11:46 GMT
Do the tubers have flower stems?
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Post by roofgardener on Dec 2, 2015 21:14:00 GMT
Ummm.... yes... big thick hollow ones ? Is that OK ? ......... It's not OK, isn't it ? AAAAARGH... my Tubers have got Hollowed Stem Syndrome  Will I have to burn the Polytunnel ? |
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Post by dianthus on Dec 2, 2015 22:15:55 GMT
No, you won't, but Dai probably has a useful tip to share on Dahlia storage.
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Post by SueA on Dec 2, 2015 22:55:06 GMT
Roofy you've just opened up a whole new can of worms! Dahlia storage is a big topic of conversation on the dahlia threads, Derek has covered it in his diary etc, everyone has their own way of doing it & it's up to you which you choose, most of them are 'growing for showing' large quantities but if you just have a few & want to keep them alive I bet if you just leave them fairly dry in compost in a pot in the polytunnel- frost free, they will survive & you can repot in fresh compost next spring.
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Post by roofgardener on Dec 3, 2015 8:42:23 GMT
Yeah, I KNOW I should read the Dahlia threads SueA; there is a wealth of information in there. The thing is, I'm not really a Dahlia grower - I jsut grew a few for my Family's respective gardens. So I guess that - crudely speaking - I can treat the tubers as a sort of giant lumpy seed ? |
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Post by SueA on Dec 3, 2015 8:59:36 GMT
Sort of, or a bit like a bulb. Just be careful, don't pull the individual tuber 'fingers' off the clump with the original stem as you need to make sure each bit has a growing 'eye' on it, people like Moonlight would be able to tell you how to do that (split them) if you really wanted to & you can also take cuttings off them next spring when they start to sprout as you've read in Dr. Hessayon which would increase your stock but other than that you can just keep them frost free & replant each clump next year. At our old house I just used to do what dianthus suggested & dry them off upside down for a bit then wrap them in newspaper put them in a box & store it in the shed built into the ginnel at the side of the house. They shrivel up a little bit that way but come back to life as soon as you repot them, now I've got a proper greenhouse I'm just storing them in their pots in there. |
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Post by Moonlight on Dec 3, 2015 9:34:29 GMT
Sort of, or a bit like a bulb. Just be careful, don't pull the individual tuber 'fingers' off the clump with the original stem as you need to make sure each bit has a growing 'eye' on it, people like Moonlight would be able to tell you how to do that (split them) if you really wanted to & you can also take cuttings off them next spring when they start to sprout as you've read in Dr. Hessayon which would increase your stock but other than that you can just keep them frost free & replant each clump next year. At our old house I just used to do what dianthus suggested & dry them off upside down for a bit then wrap them in newspaper put them in a box & store it in the shed built into the ginnel at the side of the house. They shrivel up a little bit that way but come back to life as soon as you repot them, now I've got a proper greenhouse I'm just storing them in their pots in there.
Lots of discussion about tubers recently in the Dahlia 2015 Season, a lot of people try and drain their tubers but not everyone (yet it did feel like that at times) and you will see that I am the wuss who obviously wasn't a dentist in a past life...Read page 80 of Dahlias 2015 Season
p.s. As I mentioned to Cat I will start wittering on about it in my Diary soon and my personal methods of doing things can be considered unorthodox at the best of times.
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Post by roofgardener on Dec 3, 2015 10:09:20 GMT
Yaaaaay - hi there Moonlight (waves) . It's not often we see you in this area  I'm not TOO fussed about splitting them, to be honest. Would I be right in thinking that - when replanted - the tuber produces multiple new shoots ANYWAY ? Hmmm... thinking about it.. there are Dahlias at my Sister's.. I guess I should really be digging THEIR tubers up (carefully) and storing them ? |
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Post by Moonlight on Dec 3, 2015 10:34:56 GMT
Yaaaaay - hi there Moonlight (waves) . It's not often we see you in this area I'm not TOO fussed about splitting them, to be honest. Would I be right in thinking that - when replanted - the tuber produces multiple new shoots ANYWAY ? Hmmm... thinking about it.. there are Dahlias at my Sister's.. I guess I should really be digging THEIR tubers up (carefully) and storing them ?  Back at 'ya - hardly a stranger tho!
No boring details, just life has been stressful and have less time to post (or felt guilty to post so I didn't post a lot). Not everyone digs up their tubers, especially in milder parts of the country. 
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Post by roofgardener on Dec 3, 2015 12:28:44 GMT
Hmmm..... Weeeeell... I think ONE of the clumps is in the wrong location ANYWAY... so I may get my trowel/spade out this weekend. Thanks for the help Moonlight (and dianthus, SueA, and daitheplant) |
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Post by roofgardener on Dec 3, 2015 20:19:49 GMT
OK... tubers safely wrapped in newspaper; I'll brush them down and put them in soil over the weekend.
My only concern is that the newspaper in question is the Daily Mail.
Does this mean that - next year - the flowers will grow, but all lean to the right ?
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Post by dianthus on Dec 3, 2015 23:13:49 GMT
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Post by daitheplant on Dec 4, 2015 19:39:59 GMT
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Post by roofgardener on Dec 4, 2015 20:08:42 GMT
OK daitheplant... you are not one to use words wastefully. You asked me if the Tubers had flower stems. What was on your mind at the time ? Why might the stems be significant ? Are we talking the Andromeda Strain ? Will I have to burn the Polytunnel ? Will I need... special protective clothing ?  You can tell me daitheplant... I can cope. I can deal with it.  |
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