Dahlia advice please

[PotGardener]

Hi, as I am disabled, my daughters help out with the manual jobs in my small garden. They surprised me the other day by planting dahlias along a border for me. I believe you are supposed to dig up the tubers before Winter and dry them out? What would happen if I cut the plants down to soil level and left them in the ground? Thank you.

[rustylady]

As long as you don't get any really hard penetrating frosts they should be fine.

[Bren In Pots]

The RHS site recommends covering the tubers with either compost or bark chippings to protect them :-

Dahlia / Royal Horticultural Society

[andy_j]

Hi potgardener, im not far away from you in Lewes. We grow Dahlias in the ground in Preston Park in Brighton every year and we leave them in the borders. We just put a good....up to 6" mulch of bark chippings, compost, leaf litter or anything you want to insulate the tubers.

Good luck

[Bill HH]

My Dahlias made it through last winter, but then I am on the English Riviera

[Martin H]

I have similar success / failure rates by lifting/storing or by leaving the dahlias in the ground. But I think that leaving them is safest if you can give some protection on the coldest winter spells and keep the slugs away in early spring.

[Two_Sheds]

I believe you are supposed to dig up the tubers before Winter

Only if they're in waterlogged clay soil (in which they rot).

If you have mild winters, and/or sandy soil, they should be just fine in the ground.

I leave mine in the ground until early spring, then I dig up a few to force in the greenhouse, and take leaf cuttings from them to increase my stock.