"Janet Tweedy" wrote in message

I received a HUGE fimbriated pale cream/yellow one last year which was
fantastic but didn't come up again this year. David no longer has it. It
had a Japanese name I think, Tsuki-ytori-no-shisha, absolutely wonderful
dahlia, definitely a show stopper.

I have the white version 'Tsuki Yorine Shisha' medium cactus, but this year,
it was a slow-grower (only 90 cm high) - I think the cold snap in April was
to blame.
Re overwinter storage. My lifted tubers are dried for one week (upside-down)
wrapped in shredded newspaper and stored in the loft. I then transplant them
into the greenhouse soil in mid March..
On shooting, they are potted. Those which produce more than one shoot, I may
split and dust wound with sulphur. With 'Lavendale' and 'Black Monarch' I
managed to get 4 plants from the splitting - but this is unusual.
Casualty rates (lifted or left in soil) is between 5 and 10%. Unsure if
caused by weather or desease.
Pete