Now that we have had 2-3 days of frost in the S.East of England I want
to ask if there is a chance my dahlia tubers will survive if I do not
lift them for overwintering.. Most of the foliage started to whither
after the cold temps so I've chopped the plant down to about 2-3 inches
above ground level. I would like to leave the tubers underground but
fear the wet weather / frost will do permanent damage. What would be
the best form of outdoor protection for the tubers ? Roughly what
chances do they have of survival ? Would covering the tuber area with
grass cuttings / peat / compost offer some sort of protection from the
frost ? Any past experiences from "urglers" would be most helpful. I
have to get on the case fairly rapidly as there is widespread hardfrost
forecast for the next few days. Thanks.

Uncle-C

"Uncle-C" wrote in message
ups.com...
Now that we have had 2-3 days of frost in the S.East of England I want
to ask if there is a chance my dahlia tubers will survive if I do not
lift them for overwintering.. Most of the foliage started to whither
after the cold temps so I've chopped the plant down to about 2-3 inches
above ground level. I would like to leave the tubers underground but
fear the wet weather / frost will do permanent damage. What would be
the best form of outdoor protection for the tubers ? Roughly what
chances do they have of survival ? Would covering the tuber area with
grass cuttings / peat / compost offer some sort of protection from the
frost ? Any past experiences from "urglers" would be most helpful. I
have to get on the case fairly rapidly as there is widespread hardfrost
forecast for the next few days. Thanks.


You should get a good percentage of them back again, living where you do. We
live near Bournemouth and the only dahlia tubers we lift are the ones in
containers, the ones in the soil stay there. Of course we haven't (yet) had
a really severe winter ;-))

Steve

On 19 Nov 2005 07:22:38 -0800, "Uncle-C" wibbled:

Now that we have had 2-3 days of frost in the S.East of England I want
to ask if there is a chance my dahlia tubers will survive if I do not
lift them for overwintering..

We're in London and we never lift ours and never have any problems.

--
Barry Smith bazzas at btinternet.com
'It's not easy ... building Xanadu in the backstreets of Weatherfield.'

Uncle-C wrote:

Now that we have had 2-3 days of frost in the S.East of England I want
to ask if there is a chance my dahlia tubers will survive if I do not
lift them for overwintering.. Most of the foliage started to whither
after the cold temps so I've chopped the plant down to about 2-3 inches
above ground level. I would like to leave the tubers underground but
fear the wet weather / frost will do permanent damage. What would be
the best form of outdoor protection for the tubers ?

A bit of straw or compost mulch on top will keep the cold off a bit. But
even in North Yorkshire I get some that over winter when I miss them. It
depends on hold cold the winter and how waterlogged the ground and luck!

frost ? Any past experiences from "urglers" would be most helpful. I
have to get on the case fairly rapidly as there is widespread hardfrost
forecast for the next few days. Thanks.

I would lift a few of the ones you really like to be safe. Provided you
have suitable frost free dry cool storage space in a garage..

The tubers are tougher than you might think. Ditto for some daturas.
Last few days have seen off all the top growth now.

Regards,
Martin Brown

Barry Smith wrote
Now that we have had 2-3 days of frost in the S.East of England I want
to ask if there is a chance my dahlia tubers will survive if I do not
lift them for overwintering..

We're in London and we never lift ours and never have any problems.

We haven't dug up our Dahlias in the winter for years and most are out on
our allotment which is an exposed site. The only one we have lost in the
winter was last winter and was a species dahlia and I don't think it was
frost that got it.
If you want to leave them in I always suggest planting them deeper than the
books say and don't forget to slug pellet in the spring before the first
signs of growth or you will swear the frost got them as the slugs will eat
them off as quickly as they grow.
A mulch of straw or similar will also help to keep the frost off (but it's
also liked by slugs).

--
Regards
Bob
In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London

"Uncle-C" wrote
Now that we have had 2-3 days of frost in the S.East of England I want
to ask if there is a chance my dahlia tubers will survive if I do not
lift them for overwintering..

Norfolk here. My plants have managed one revival - I chanced it last year
after finding out my neighbours never lift their dahlias and theirs have
survived many years. I think it depends how free draining your soil is,
and you can always cover the spot with extra mulch if we get really low
temperatures.

--
Sue

Last year I had 2 geraniums, couple of gazanias and most dahlias survive
left in ground, however the Dahlias suffered slug attack which took out the
growing tips, so if you do mulch as I did with sawdust and topped off with
compost, take care you do not give a comfy home to slugs and snails just as
tips are regrowing.
If I recall correctly we only had one or two nights last year where the temp
dipped to -6 degrees centigrade/celsius this being in West Midlands just 2
miles from a city centre.

regards
Cineman
52 degrees north ( I think)

"Uncle-C" wrote in message
ups.com...
Now that we have had 2-3 days of frost in the S.East of England I want
to ask if there is a chance my dahlia tubers will survive if I do not
lift them for overwintering.. Most of the foliage started to whither
after the cold temps so I've chopped the plant down to about 2-3 inches
above ground level. I would like to leave the tubers underground but
fear the wet weather / frost will do permanent damage. What would be
the best form of outdoor protection for the tubers ? Roughly what
chances do they have of survival ? Would covering the tuber area with
grass cuttings / peat / compost offer some sort of protection from the
frost ? Any past experiences from "urglers" would be most helpful. I
have to get on the case fairly rapidly as there is widespread hardfrost
forecast for the next few days. Thanks.

Uncle-C