End of Season Dahlia Checklist

It’s time to begin your end of season tasks. Yes- I know they really just got going good, but some of these tasks you need to do now!

So to prep your dahlias successfully for over winter and next year:
1. Make sure they are labeled properly. Double check every plant and make sure it’s tag reads the correct variety. I use old vinyl blinds (the cheap kind), cut them up and write on them in pencil. It has never failed me! If you are digging your dahlias, zip tie it to the base of the plant.
If you have a mislabel that you can’t identify, try posting in Dahlia forums on Facebook, asking friends, check with the supplier- there are multiple ways to figure it out. And if I can’t find the actual name, I just write a description- that way I know it’s not what the original label said it was.

2. Figure out when you need to stop fertilizing. Look up your average first frost date and then work back a month from there. After that point, don’t fertilize any more. You don’t want to encourage a lot of new growth towards the end of the season. Just let your dahlias focus on tuber growth during the last month. If you don’t wait until frost to dig your tubers, just stop fertilizing about a month out from when you will dig.

3. Decide on your winter storage method. We’ll talk more in depth about this later but decide if you are going to dig or leave your tubers in the ground.

4. Make your wish list for next year. Decide who you want to add and who’s getting the boot to make room for new additions.