My father-in-law used to dig up his dahlia tubers every fall and store them in dirt in the garage. As far as I remember, he grew one color dahlia – a dark burgundy variety. He gave me tubers and I managed to dig them up the first year. I forgot the next year and lost them to winter’s cold.
I don’t do well with plants that I have to dig up and store, then replant the next year. By the time the flowering season is over, I’m tired of fall garden chores and it’s cold outside. Or, I forget. Because of my tendency to neglect plants like dahlias, I usually steer clear of them. But, the pictures of the flowers are so beautiful on the bags, sometimes I just can’t resist.
About five years ago I bought a bag of giant pink and purple dahlia tubers and stuck them in the ground. They were stunners, with large flowers that would topple the plants to the ground if I didn’t stake them. I remembered to dig them up that fall and to replant them the next spring and enjoyed them again in the summer. I never dug them up again.
The dahlias reappeared the following summer. I lost the purple dahlias the following winter, but the pink ones flourished the next summer. They came up again this summer and I returned home to two large pink blooms. I staked the plant and will admire those beautiful flowers over the next few weeks.
Maybe it’s global warming or maybe the dahlias are close enough to the house foundation to be warm enough to survive. I’m grateful that they’ve given me several summers of color despite my neglect.
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