Today, we’re finishing up our discussion about how to decide which dahlia seedlings to save. We’ve talked about blooms, plant vigor, and plant habit. The final thing we’re going to talk about is the tubers.
You may have a beautiful flower that is vigorous and spectacular, but, if the tubers don’t store well, you will lose that hybrid plant forever. The tubers are very important, because without healthy tubers, you can’t store over the winter and regrow that plant. There are 4 things to consider about your new seedlings’ tubers.
- Storage reliability
- Individual tuber size
- Productivity
- Tuber vigor
Storage Reliability
How well do the tubers over-winter? Did most of them turn to mush? If they don’t overwinter well, then this is a deal-breaker. Unfortunately, without tubers that store reliably, the hybrid is not worth keeping. It’s crucial for a tuber to over-winter well.
Individual tuber size
It’s amazing how different the tuber sizes are from one variety to the next! You will most likely have a small clump of tubers after the first season, so this characteristic can’t really be observed until after the second season of growing. It’s okay if the tubers are small, as long as the three other considerations are good. If we have varieties that produce monster tubers, unless the blooms is REALLY special, we don’t keep it. Very large tubers take up extra storage space and are difficult both to plant and to ship.
Productivity
How many tubers does your new seedling make? We look for varieties that produce a lot of tubers since we need to sell them and have enough left over to plant in our fields the next year. If a variety isn’t very productive, that doesn’t mean that it’s not a good new hybrid, though. Take notes of how many viable tubers you get over 2 or 3 growing seasons and then make your decision.
Tuber Vigor
Other important questions to ask as you assess your seedlings’ tubers are: How vigorous are your tubers? And how long does it take them to “wake up” from winter storage? In the spring, watch for how many sprouts each tuber makes and how quickly they begin to sprout. We’re looking for vigorous growth and a tuber that doesn’t take too long to start producing after planting it. Each variety of dahlia is different, which includes how many eyes it usually makes. Take good notes about how many eyes you see and how many average sprouts you get from your tubers each year that you are assessing.
We hope this series has been helpful as you grow dahlia seedlings and decide what to save and what to enjoy for a season and then let go. Dahlia hybridizing is so exciting because you never quite know what kind of flower you’ll end up with when you plant a dahlia seed!
Want to learn more about growing dahlias?
The Garden is a positive online membership community offered by Triple Wren Farms. Membership includes:
- First access to TWF tuber and seed sales
- A wealth of flower garden How-To topics
- Frequent seasonal Live Trainings and Q&A’s
- Our “Anyone Can Grow Dahlias” e-course
- Personalized gardening advice
- Encouraging gardening community and more…
Visit our website to find details and join The Garden!
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