Starting off dahlias

[w33blegurl]

Morning!

My order of dahlia tubers has just arrived and where I'd normally start them off in pots in our kitchen, I now have access to an unheated greenhouse. Would they be OK in there instead? Just trying to avoid the inevitable plant-splosion on our kitchen floor.....
Ta!

[peanut]

That's where mine are !
I potted them up into dry compost and have them in my unheated greenhouse, when they start to show signs of growth, which I hope won't be for a good while yet, I'll protect them with fleece when needed.

[annie8]

I kept my tubers in my unheated greenhouse all winter in sand, but just potted them up into compost today. Should be fine there.

[Babru]

I'm planning to pot mine up and put them in my unheated greenhouse. Pretty warm during the day, but I'll keep an eye on the overnight temperature, and cover them if it drops below about 5 - which I expect is most nights for a while to come.

[Nikkinak]

Mine are potted up in unheated mini greenhouse. As others have said if temps are due to drop I will cover with some fleece to protect them. But also other years I have just planted them out when it's been warmer and they have been ok

[Plot70]

Mine have been left in the ground as they were in previous years.
The clumps of tubers are so big that I would never find room for them indoors. I just leave brush wood over the bed to give some protection.

[annie8]

Good point about covering them. Overnight temps in the gh still going down to about 2.

[Babru]

Some of my lifted ones are pretty big too, Plot70, but I've found if I leave them in the ground the new shoots are grazed off by slugs and snails, and they never get a chance to grow.

My friend saw a YouTube demo from a professional dahlia grower. Wait till you can see the tuber sprouting, then you can split your tubers into new plants. I've found it impossible to tell which bits will produce plants, so wasted my time potting up bits that do nothing. I'm going to try this with my whoppers.

[Snadger]

I bought one massive multi tubered corm of dahlia Vancouver with a view to striking cuttings from it. I have it on a heated propagator tray and can see five shoots coming up from it now. These i will take as cuttings before planting the large tubers out later on. Six plants for he cost of one seems a bargain to me!

[Plot70]

Some of my lifted ones are pretty big too, Plot70, but I've found if I leave them in the ground the new shoots are grazed off by slugs and snails, and they never get a chance to grow.

I usually have to put some slug pellets down. I get a nice clear bed and the strawberries are next in from the vehicle track so there is less slug damage on them later too.

[bramble]

While weeding this afternoon I noticed all my dahlias are up and growing.
I leave them in the ground all year round.
I just earth them up very well and sometimes put an upturned flower pot over the crown for protection.
These are old pottery pots.