To: portia, That was exactly the same circumastance I went through the last 2 years with dahlias. We got LOTS of rain last year from April through July, into August, which is odd considering it normally starts getting dry in June in the mid Atlantic. So even though I used a mix of potting soil with gardening soil and some native soil, it was waterlogged, so I had to replant twice last year. This year I assumed we wouldnt get all the rain we got last year, but in May we had a huge storm that dropped inches of rain and when I looked at them the next day, it was like digging a hole in the sand at the beach, when you dig deep enough you run into water. Well, all I had to do was dig down 3 inches around the dahlia tubers, and I was hitting water! So I dug them all up, buried the sopping wet soil back into the hole, but got rid of about an inch of it, then made a new mixture of about 50% sand, built mounds roughly 6-7" tall and buried the tubers inside the mounds at about 1" above normal ground level, so that in reality they werent deep enough to become covered in water again. They dont like being dug up & replanted after they have been in the ground a few weeks, and it caused them to stop growing for about 2 weeks to reestablish their roots. From now on I think mounds are the answer to planting dahlias at least til I find a better place to plant them.

The myth of dahlias 'needing' a killing frost is rather silly, when you consider the fact that they are descended from a dahlia originating in Mexico, which is much closer to the equator. I know folks that live in non-freezing areas who cut their plants without a freeze, and dig/store their tubers with wonderful results the next season. Some might ask why they bother digging if 'they don't have to.' There are several reasons. 1. Most serious growers plant out only one tuber instead of allowing the whole clump to produce many shoots, as you get the most vigour and better blooms from a single tuber. 2. Digging and dividing allows growers to increase their stock for planting out, sharing or selling. 3. Instead of Northern winters, Southerners go through a rainy season, which can rot out entire clumps left in the garden. (The most successful growers that overwinter clumps in the ground cut flush to the ground and COVER the tops with plastic to keep water from pooling in the soil.) Hope this helps explain things a bit.

Here's my 2cents on the topic. Poochella has me by 1 year on this growing, storing dahlia process. With 150 clumps to deal with , I have used every method in the books and at the end I have even said thats enough and blasted than with a hose , thrown them in a basket and said you are on your own, don't complain and be quite down there in the basement for the rest of the winter, Amen!!! From my experience , it is much easier to separate tubers in the fall than spring, first of all the tubers are at their juciest? lol and much easier to cut apart and store. If you do wait and I have, when spring comes and you are tilling and preparing soil and hemming and hawing about where to plant this and that, the last thing you want to do is divide dahlias. There's just to many other things to do and I found my dahlias get planted a little later than they should just out of time restrictions. This is fun to do as I have so many dahlias, I invited a few friends over promising them a wonderful Italian dinner, even made cannolis, and put them to work. We had a great time and finished the whole process off with a few botttles of Vino!!! Of course this is just my 2 cents worth! Happy storing, Willow

I ive in the PUget Sound area of Washington state and I mostly leave mine in the ground over winter. The 3 big problems that one might encounter are (1)freezing--turns the tuber to mush, no chance of future use (2) rotting in soggy soil...soil must be well drained (3) damage by underground rodents (Hungry mice) and Insects like slugs that will eat emerging growth off them and even down into the tuber, sometimes leading to rot. If you have a pile of tubers from more then a years growth since dividing, often the top ones will freeze but the bottom ones remain intact and growth will come from them. IN your climate, David, they should be fine. You should divide the clump of tubers ever two or 3 years through to keep your plant strong. I dig them in the spring, divide and repot into my greenhouse to speed them up and get some good growth before the soil warms in the garden. You can even take an axe to the clump and simply quarter it and cut off the cut surfaced ones and plant the rest of the quarters into 4 different locations or give them away.I second the idea of covering your plant's space with plastic over the ground.