Restarting dahlia tubers

Ruth pots up last year’s healthy roots to make cuttings

- Ruth Hayes

I OVERWINTERED my dahlia and canna lily tubers in our unheated greenhouse, the former on trays of sandy compost, the latter in full pots of compost.

They were well wrapped in fleece to help them survive the cold weather and this week I made sure they are still sound and potted them up.

I’ve left the canna in its large container of multipurpose compost for the time being as several new shoots have appeared and I don’t want to disturb them.

Thanks to the mild autumn last year they flowered well into November and I am keeping my fingers crossed they put in a repeat performance in 2023.

Before potting up the dahlias I checked them over to make sure all the ‘fingers’ of their tubers were firm and healthy, removing those that were soft or starting to rot.