Ask Arlene about dahlias and gladiolas ©

Ask Arlene about dahlias and gladiolas ©

By Arlene Wright-Correll

An email questions said, “My dahlias in the last two years froze to death.  Do you know anything about digging, drying, storing them over winter?”  

Around our part of Kentucky people usually leave them in the ground all winter.  Usually in the spring dahlia tubers may be divided. You plant tubers 6 inches deep when soil has warmed after frost or start early indoors in pots. Water tubers sparingly once after planting and then do not water until new growth appears. Fertilize with 5-10-10 when growth reaches two inches tall.

However, you are not alone as the past two winters many people have lost them. So here is some good advice about end of the season care.

 Wait a few days after the foliage is blackened by frost before digging the tubers to store for the winter. If plants are in a frost-free area, dig by mid-November. Cut the stalk to 4-6 inches tall, rinse off the soil, and allow the clump to air dry under cover for 24 hours.

Next you line cardboard boxes or terra-cotta pots with newspaper and layer tubers with barely moist sawdust, sand, or peat. Do not store in plastic. Keep boxes cool (40 to 50 degrees F) and dry for the winter in a dark spot and check for rot or shriveling on a monthly basis.   Should shriveling occur, mist the packing material lightly with water.

Remove all old foliage from the garden area.

Another way is the winter is mild mulch plants heavily if over wintered in the ground in Zones 7 and above. Further north, wait until a few days after frost has killed the foliage, then do as above.  

Another email asks, “When do I divide my gladiolus bulbs?”

In areas that experience frost, the gladiolus corms require digging before the first hard frost in fall or early winter. The corms can't survive if they freeze, although a light frost rarely freezes the soil. In areas that don't experience frost, dig the corms either when the foliage yellows and begins to die back or six weeks after flowering completes.

Dividing your gladiolus bulbs for planting starts in the fall so dig up each corm and remove the small cormlets from the bottom. Store them over the winter and plant them in the spring. The cormlets will grow into a plant, but won't produce a flower this first year.

Dry peat moss or vermiculite provides a sterile storage medium for gladiolus corms. Fill a shallow box or a cloth bag with the storage medium. Dusting the corms with a bulb fungicide prior to storage prevents disease issues during storage. Store the corms buried in the dry medium and make sure you arrange them so that they don't touch one another. A cool, dry location that isn't exposed to freezing temperatures supplies the optimum storage conditions.

May the Creative Force be with you as you tread the earth lightly!

Arlene Wright-Correll

Home Farm Herbery LLC