Tips for buying dahlia tubers

It's that time of the year again, the dahlia tuber sales are well underway and the pressure of the Dahlia Hunger Games has gripped us all!  I always tell myself I have enough varieties but somehow I've ended up with another eleven for this coming season, although potentially I could end up with more.  I know....I'm booking myself in for therapy!  Many flower farms have had their pre-sales and are now starting to ship out their orders as the tubers are starting to wake up.  Other farms are on to their second release sales and this year there has been a flood of garden growers selling their excess tubers.  It's great that so many people are spreading the dahlia joy!  It's definitely a stressful time of year however as some varieties are coveted and often rarer.  These varieties usually include the more blush, peach, pale pink and neutral tone blooms...yes...they are still exceedingly popular.  I know personally I am trying to build up my collection of these treasures as they are fantastic for weddings and are popular at farmer's markets, when I sell them in-store and are also the most requested colour with bouquet orders.

Scoring the unicorns!
This is probably one of the hardest (and most stressful) thing about buying dahlia tubers.  Everyone is usually after the same ones and so often you will miss out.  I see comments online from people who have missed out yet again on their desired purchases but are happy to try again next year.  Growers can produce only so many each season, and they are also at the mercy of the weather and a whole host of uncontrollable factors, so there is no point in being upset about missing out.  We can only do so much.  The best thing is to make your list and gradually whittle it down.  There are lots of dahlia groups on Facebook and with lots of gardeners now selling you might be lucky in finding the one you want.  Often growers are keen to make swaps so do a bit of a search.  The other tip is to make sure you subscribe to the various newsletters that you will often find on flower farmer's websites.  This way you will be among the first to receive the news about sales and once you know the date and time you can set your alarm and get those fingers (and credit cards!) ready.
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If you are new to dahlias the whole process can seem a little daunting.  You see these beautiful images of gorgeous flowers, you jump online and battle the Olympic Games of Dahlia Tuber sales, add to cart and finally your new tubers arrive.  But what then?  A brown lumpy potato looking thing turns up and confusion (may!) set in.  This is supposed to turn into that???  

What is a tuber?
Amazingly yes, a dahlia plant will grow from the tuber...which is essentially the same as a bulb.  Everything the plant needs to grow is stored in the tuber and what has been posted to you is a piece of live plant material.  First thing is to check that your tuber is of good quality, which no doubt it will be if purchased from a reputable seller.  The tuber should be firm, have a neck (that is not broken), a crown and an eye.  It is from the eye that the shoot will grow.  Sometimes your tuber will already have a shoot.  If it happens to break off don't panic as another will grow in its place. You can get a tuber that doesn't have a long neck but still has a crown with an eye.  These are also fine.  Tubers come in all sorts of shapes and sizes.  Also, size doesn't matter so it is not an issue if you receive a smaller tuber.  Some plants are smaller too, so will naturally produce a smaller clump of tubers.  Some bigger online retail sellers will send you pot grown tubers.  These will look a lot different, usually grey in colour and will be a small clump.  Personally I have had no success with these as they have been too dried and eventually they shrivelled up completely and died.  This is not to say that they will all do this, however I recommend potting them up in some moist potting mix or compost if they are too dry.  

Storage and care
Once you receive your tubers you will need to put them somewhere safe until it is time to plant.  I keep mine in the bags they arrive in, as long as they are paper bags.  Plastic bags may retain moisture and you run the risk of your tubers rotting.  I am also careful about any that are sitting in sawdust or wood shavings.  You don't want them to dry out too much either.  Usually you will receive them not too long before you can plant them out so short term storage is not often a problem.  You can also pot your tubers up early to get a jump on the season.  Do not water too much as you actually don't water tubers in when you plant them in the ground.  A slightly moist potting mix is ok.  Grow your tuber on in the pot like a normal plant and once it is warm enough you can plant it out in the garden.  If you plan on taking cuttings from your tuber (which is a whole other topic) you would also be potting up your tubers.

Planting out
When do I plant them?  This is the question I get asked them most.  Simply put you plant out your tubers once all risk of frost has passed and your soil is warm enough.  It is good to wait until you are having night temperatures that are 10 degrees Celsius or higher.  The timing of planting out varies for everyone, particularly here in Australia as temperatures are so different depending on location.  For us here at Blooms on the Hill in Budgeree I will generally wait until mid to late October, and that is very dependent on the weather.  Sometimes we have warmer spring weather and I can plant out early, although usually I then get caught out and we have torrential rain afterwards and then I lose some tubers to rot due to getting too water logged.  It is always a tricky one to call.  In Victoria the standard is "around Melbourne Cup weekend" for planting out dahlias, so that is often a good time to stick to.  If I can plant out earlier I will but this is due to wanting the flowers as soon as possible because obviously as a flower farmer I sell them and I also have weddings booked for February and March that are very keen for dahlias.  I actually have some left in the ground and a good indicator for me is that these tubers will start shooting.  I then know that the ground is warm enough.  From here I will keep checking the forecast for night temperatures and keep on eye on the long term rain forecast.  It is certainly not an exact science, the weather is so unpredictable, so don't let it worry you, it really is out of your hands.  As growers we can only do our best! 

Here at Blooms on the Hill we still have plenty of tubers available in lots of lovely varieties.  Pop over to the Dahlia Tuber page on the website and see the list.  You can shoot me a message via the contact form or send me a text.  

Happy Dahlia tuber buying!

​Amber