Dahlia Tubers: Splitting And Storing Guide
A dahlia tuber next to a dahlia flower - couldn’t be more different!
Nature is so abundant that once you’ve grown a dahlia flower/plant, you can dig up the dahlia tubers underground, break them apart, and save them to plant the next year - giving you a tonne more dahlia tubers to work with.
Saving dahlia tubers is not only a great sustainable practise (saving what you already have to use again, rather than just buying more things), but it’s also great on the wallet because tubers cost between $10-$25 each, so collecting your own bounty can save hundreds of $$$.
It’s really simple to dig up, split and then store dahlia tubers over the winter before planting them again the next summer. Here are four steps I wish I had known when I first started saving and splitting my dahlia tubers. And if you need to buy some extra tubers or varieties you don’t already have, you might find my Ultimate Dahlia Sellers List below helpful. It includes about 50 dahlia tuber sellers in Australia!
The dahlia tubers getting separated and washed (above) and the dahlia flowers they came from
Dahlia Tubers Splitting Tips
#1 Dahlias are a summer flower. When they stop flowering around April, it’s time to brutally cut the plant down to about ankle height. This tells the plant to stop sending energy up to the flowers and instead to send it down the grow the tubers instead.
#2 I usually let the plant sit in the ground for a week or two to let the dahlia tubers ‘cure’, then I dig up the clumps very gently. They can often be quite large with anywhere between 5-20 extra tubers there!
#3 Next I wash off the dirt and start to break the tubers apart. There is a trick to getting viable tubers, each piece has to have a small part connected to the central tubers stem. It’s hard to explain so check out this video and see the photos below. If the tubers doesn’t have a tiny piece connected to the original stem, it won’t grow. I also recommend using a very sharp knife or scissors.
#4 The final step is to store the tubers over winter. I store them in a plastic container filled with potting mix. I like to keep this all on the very dry side (I keep the container lid open to stop any dampness forming) because if the tubers get damp they will rot. People also store them in peat moss too. I then pull them out as the weather warms in spring/summer to plant again next time!
A huge clump of tubers from my brother Fergus’ dahlia patch
Note how each tuber has a yellow clump at the top - this is part where it was connected to the original stem = viable dahlia tubers!
How I store my tubers over winter - in potting mix in a container and I make sure it stays dry not damp
Looking for more information? Check out my take on 9 Amazing Dahlias To Grow In 2023 or Ferg’s Dahlia Tuber Bounty in his courtyard in Sydney.
