{"id":13000,"date":"2025-08-11T10:26:29","date_gmt":"2025-08-11T09:26:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hartsnursery.co.uk\/lily-info\/what-to-do-with-dahlias-after-they-have-finished-flowering\/"},"modified":"2025-09-13T09:44:56","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T08:44:56","slug":"what-to-do-with-dahlias-after-they-have-finished-flowering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hartsnursery.co.uk\/lily-info\/what-to-do-with-dahlias-after-they-have-finished-flowering\/","title":{"rendered":"What to do with dahlias after they have finished flowering"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This question was asked by <span class=\"hubmaster_faq_author\"><br \/>\n&#8211; <em>Mrs K<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"hubmaster_faq_blockquote\"><p>Good morning, would you kindly tell me how to store my Dahlia&#8217;s over the winter for next year.<br \/>\nMany thanks<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"185\">Certainly! Overwintering dahlias is all about keeping tubers safe from frost and rot so they\u2019re ready to burst into life again next year. Here\u2019s a simple, step-by-step guide:<\/p>\n<hr data-start=\"187\" data-end=\"190\" \/>\n<h3 data-start=\"192\" data-end=\"227\"><strong data-start=\"196\" data-end=\"227\">1. Wait for the First Frost<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li data-start=\"230\" data-end=\"347\">Leave your dahlias in the ground until <strong data-start=\"269\" data-end=\"308\">the first frost blackens the leaves<\/strong>. This signals the plant to go dormant.<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"350\" data-end=\"429\">Don\u2019t rush \u2014 if you lift them too early, the tubers may not have fully matured.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr data-start=\"431\" data-end=\"434\" \/>\n<h3 data-start=\"436\" data-end=\"464\"><strong data-start=\"440\" data-end=\"464\">2. Cut Back and Lift<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li data-start=\"467\" data-end=\"527\">Cut stems down to <strong data-start=\"485\" data-end=\"510\">10\u201315 cm (4\u20136 inches)<\/strong> above the tuber.<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"530\" data-end=\"618\">Use a fork to gently lift the clump from the soil, being careful not to stab the tubers.<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"621\" data-end=\"704\">Shake or brush off loose soil \u2014 avoid washing with water unless they\u2019re very muddy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr data-start=\"706\" data-end=\"709\" \/>\n<h3 data-start=\"711\" data-end=\"730\"><strong data-start=\"715\" data-end=\"730\">3. Dry Them<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li data-start=\"733\" data-end=\"837\">Let the tubers <strong data-start=\"748\" data-end=\"759\">air dry<\/strong> in a frost-free, dry, airy spot (like a shed or greenhouse) for about a week.<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"840\" data-end=\"874\">This helps prevent rot in storage.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr data-start=\"876\" data-end=\"879\" \/>\n<h3 data-start=\"881\" data-end=\"909\"><strong data-start=\"885\" data-end=\"909\">4. Clean and Inspect<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li data-start=\"912\" data-end=\"938\">Remove any remaining soil.<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"941\" data-end=\"1012\">Check for damaged or diseased tubers \u2014 discard any soft or mouldy ones.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr data-start=\"1014\" data-end=\"1017\" \/>\n<h3 data-start=\"1019\" data-end=\"1045\"><strong data-start=\"1023\" data-end=\"1045\">5. Store Correctly<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"1048\" data-end=\"1102\">Place in <strong data-start=\"1057\" data-end=\"1075\">a box or crate<\/strong> with dry material such as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li data-start=\"1107\" data-end=\"1118\">Dry compost<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1123\" data-end=\"1140\">Peat-free compost<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1145\" data-end=\"1156\">Vermiculite<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1161\" data-end=\"1165\">Sand<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1161\" data-end=\"1165\">Make sure tubers don\u2019t touch each other \u2014 keeps rot from spreading.<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1238\" data-end=\"1316\">Store in a <strong data-start=\"1249\" data-end=\"1275\">cool, dark, frost-free<\/strong> place (around 4\u201310 \u00b0C \/ 40\u201350 \u00b0F), like:<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1321\" data-end=\"1343\">Garage (if frost-free)<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1348\" data-end=\"1352\">Shed<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1357\" data-end=\"1367\">Spare room<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1372\" data-end=\"1378\">Cellar<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr data-start=\"1380\" data-end=\"1383\" \/>\n<h3 data-start=\"1385\" data-end=\"1409\"><strong data-start=\"1389\" data-end=\"1409\">6. Check Monthly<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li data-start=\"1410\" data-end=\"1467\">\n<p data-start=\"1412\" data-end=\"1467\">Every few weeks, check for signs of rot or shrivelling.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1468\" data-end=\"1518\">\n<p data-start=\"1470\" data-end=\"1518\">If shrivelling, lightly mist the storage medium.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1519\" data-end=\"1567\">\n<p data-start=\"1521\" data-end=\"1567\">If rot, remove the affected tuber immediately.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr data-start=\"1569\" data-end=\"1572\" \/>\n<p data-start=\"1574\" data-end=\"1787\"><strong data-start=\"1577\" data-end=\"1591\">Extra tip:<\/strong> If you\u2019re in a very mild area, you can leave dahlias in the ground over winter \u2014 just cut back and cover with a thick mulch layer. But it\u2019s always safer to lift them if your winters are frosty.<\/p>\n<p><em class=\"hubmaster_faq_editor\">The Hart Family<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Certainly! Overwintering dahlias is all about keeping tubers safe from frost and.. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hartsnursery.co.uk\/lily-info\/what-to-do-with-dahlias-after-they-have-finished-flowering\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":8434,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[497,232],"class_list":["post-13000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-faq","tag-c312","tag-faq"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.hartsnursery.co.uk\/lily-info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/235965618_375413250628596_5477799061773534019_n.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hartsnursery.co.uk\/lily-info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hartsnursery.co.uk\/lily-info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hartsnursery.co.uk\/lily-info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hartsnursery.co.uk\/lily-info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hartsnursery.co.uk\/lily-info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13000"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.hartsnursery.co.uk\/lily-info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13000\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13125,"href":"https:\/\/www.hartsnursery.co.uk\/lily-info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13000\/revisions\/13125"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hartsnursery.co.uk\/lily-info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hartsnursery.co.uk\/lily-info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hartsnursery.co.uk\/lily-info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hartsnursery.co.uk\/lily-info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}