What To Do When Your Dahlias Arrive?
It’s almost that time— When it seems like Christmas comes once a week? When those mysterious packages show up and you go— I wonder which farm this one is from? Or is that just me that forgets what they ordered and from whom?!
I do love March and April because it really does feel like Christmas around here- new plugs arriving for the farm and tubers from far and wide.
But you may be wondering-What do I do with these tubers when they get here? Do I plant? Store them somehow? Well - keep reading!
Tuber order arriving to our farm
First thing to do— OPEN THAT BOX!! Don’t let it sit for more than a few hours unopened. The easiest way to kill your dahlias is to leave tubers or rooted cuttings in a box unopened for a few days. These are living things- they want to breathe some fresh air. So Open That Box!
If the box is full of just tubers, put it in a 65-70 degree place (inside your house is probably fine). If the tubers are in plastic, open the plastic up. Don’t leave them inside because they may condensate. Inspect your purchase. If you see anything odd, email the seller immediately. Good, responsible tuber sellers will get back to you within a few days. Posting in an online forum will only get a bunch of confusing answers- just go straight to the source that you bought from.
If you are within 4 weeks of your planting date outside, then place them in a spot where it’s 65-70 degrees and the humidity is on the high side - that will do just fine. Do check on them every few days. A lot of houses can be dry if you are still running your heat a lot so you want to make sure that your tubers don’t start shriveling due to dry air. If this happens, get them planted straight away if you are warm enough and soil temps are around 60 degrees. If you can’t plant outside, pot up your tubers in a small pot and water sparingly. Usually one watering to get it going is enough. Run it on the dry side so you don’t rot out your tuber.
When you have passed your last frost date and the soil is warm (60ish degrees), you can plant outside. Then you’ll have a 2-5 week wait while it sprouts. Remember some tubers are slower to wake up than others, some can take up to 8 weeks.
Rooted Dahlia Cutting
Now if you bought a rooted cutting, well- instead of writing it all out here again, I’m just going to direct you to my other blog post about what to do when your rooted cuttings arrive.
It’s not super complicated - basically it’s just remembering that these are living things and they don’t like to live locked inside a box for longer than they have too!
