The Digging Begins

Today I started the annual task of digging up all of my dahlias. I have 199 plants set out in 15 rows.  I began today by cutting down 3 rows. These will be the tubers that I lift next weekend. Then I dug up the 3 rows of dahlias that I cut down earlier this week. I ended up with 42 clumps. I was pleased at the condition of the tubers that I dug today. With our cool, wet Spring & Summer I was really concerned that the tuber growth might have been affected. But he tubers are all full size and seem to be firm, with very little signs of rot at this point. After I got everything dug I hauled them back to the house. I then gentle hosed each clump off and trimmed them of all the misc roots and stocks. Then they went into the shop to await division and further cleaning.

Here are four nice clumps of the Pom "Willo Borealis". It looks like I should definitely have enough tubers to grow and to share next year. In the picture below, you can clearly see the swollen eyes on tubers, right where they join the stock. This makes dividing so much easier.