This year my tubers made it--what to do next?

18 years ago

The year before last I tried to save tubers from an Emory Paul Dahlia. It was my first time and the clump was huge. I put it in a paper grocery bag with some damp (course)spaghnum peat( all the garden center had left)and put it in the basement fridge set at 40 degrees. The clump filled up 3/4 of the bag ! It must have had 50 tubers! I was perplexed because I didn't expect anything that size. Anyway the whole thing shriveled up and got tossed on the compost pile.

This year my tubers made it through the winter ( they were very much smaller)I put them in plastic grocery bags filled with damp vermiculite and I did dust them with sulphur (nasty stuff). I put them in the fridge at 40 degrees again.

What do I do now? I do not see any eyes at all. I am determined to get the hang of this because after having a 12" flower on Emory Paul I am hooked. btw-I did take one bag of tubers out about a week and a half ago and left it on the table to see if the warmer temp. would cause it to sprout eyes--so far nothing.

I have read to cut the tuber off with a piece of the stem attached and put it in soil and just cover the bottom half. Did I understand this correctly? And does the end with the piece of stem just stick out above the soil? I've also read that some tubers are just feeder tubers and they won't sprout. Is that correct?

The new tubers that I bought this year were all planted in pots about 5 to 6 inches deep 3 weeks ago and are doing fine and up several inches under lights in my basement right now.

I would like to be able to learn how to propagate these successfully so I don't have to back them up with new ones each year!!! I am determined!!!

Also, has anyone tried the Emory Paul dahlia? I had it the year before last and I put in a piece of concrete reinforcing steel to use as a stake and I never even had to tie it up. It grew 5 feet tall and had such a stiff sturdy stalk that it didn't fall over like the ones I had last summer. That is what got me hooked on Dahlias. What a beautiful flower!

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Comments (2)

jroot
18 years ago
It would appear that what you are doing is correct.
You read to cut the tuber off with a piece of the stem attached and put it in soil and just cover the bottom half. This is what I do. You also mentioned that the end with the piece of stem just stick out above the soil. This is correct. Lastly you mentioned that some tubers are just feeder tubers and they won't sprout. This is definitely correct. Just yesterday, I threw out a tuber that was firm and plump, looked like it "should" have had eyes on its stem, but alas just sat there growing huge roots. It is hard to tell sometimes, which ones will sprout. Others, that I thought would have one sprout, have many.

Emory Paul is indeed a beautiful dahlia. My sister has it, and has had good success in keeping it.
purpleflowerlover
Original Author
18 years ago
Thanks jroot. Now that I know for sure what to do-it's time to put it into practice. I just hope practice makes perfect :)
****princesspeony****
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This year my tubers made it--what to do next?

Comments (2)

jroot

purpleflowerlover
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This year my tubers made it--what to do next?

Comments (2)

jroot

purpleflowerloverOriginal Author

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purpleflowerlover
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