Ferg’s Dahlia Tuber Bounty

My brother Fergus Grealy (AKA Ghostie) overloaded with dahlia tubers

My brother Ferg mastered the art of growing dahlias last year, growing a bounty of beautiful red Tom’s Dahlias in honour of our brother Tom, in his courtyard.

When the dahlias had finished blooming and started to die off in April, he cut them back and let the tubers underground cure for a few weeks.

When I visited in May, we had a little working bee to dig up the tubers to save them for planting next time. Below are all the photos of the steps Ferg took to save the dahlia tubers.

You can see him digging them up, washing all the dirt off, dividing them into individual tubers with heavy duty snips, drying them in the sun and, finally, packing them away for safe keeping over winter in a container and covering them with potting mix to keep them protected.

I’m writing this months after in September and can report back that all of Ferg’s dahlia tubers (over 50!!) are in great condition ready to plant again this year. Each tuber creates one whole dahlia plant with tons of flowers, so he is set. Impressive #sustainability too!

Looking for more info? Check out my take on Where To Buy Dahlia Tubers In Australia or 6 Flower Farms To Buy Dahlias In Australia.