Aren't dahlia displays beautiful? I especially like dahlias with big flowers and with bicolored flowers. Massed together, they create a jaw-dropping scene. Such displays are relatively common in gardens across the North.
But do not let that commonness lull you into a false sense of security: dahlias are tropical plants, meaning they are tender. Cold winters will kill them, right down to the tubers that are their life source.
Some in the North dig up and overwinter dahlia tubers indoors. These folks can be loosely grouped into two classes (although overlap will be inevitable):
- Those landscaping on a budget
- Those who enjoy tinkering in the garden, folks who like to experiment with various techniques to see how green their thumbs are
If you fall into neither of those groups, you may opt simply to buy new dahlia tubers next year. Why? Because digging up the dahlia tubers and storing them away "properly" to overwinter them is a lot of work (although I mention an easier alternative in this tutorial, too) -- and the desired results are by no means guaranteed! But if you'd like to take a crack at it, click the link below to learn more.
Read article: Overwintering Dahlias
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Photo ©2010 David Beaulieu (licensed to About, Inc.)
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