I'm surprised there is no forum for dahlias. There are so MANY different forms (possible vocabulary misstep there) and individual ones. I myself have traditionally avoided anything that instructs "lift in Fall". But I got 3 for free a couple of years ago and decided to grow them in clay pots on the deck, bringing them in for winter. Now I am so in love I am ready to expand.

BUT I HAVE QUESTIONS!

In the past, I have brought my few pots in about now. But there are fresh buds this year and it makes me want to give the leaves the most possible time to soak up what sun they can. IS THERE A TEMPERATURE POINT above freezing that I should bring them in for?

Cubits has a dahlia forum I think

Thank you, yes they do.
Still wish we had one here though.
I don't go over there much anymore - I'm on here all day!

IF, however, you'll
SHOW ME YOUR CRITTERS!
http://cubits.org/crittergarde...
I will find them over there and LOVE it.
Not many people have shown me their critters lately, and I do go check for new posts there each day. Without those, I have no reason to stay there, so I come back here....

Crittergarden, I live where dahlia's can survive our winters in the ground, but I've been growing them in pots here for years. So I do put them in my shed every year. I wait for the first frost to blacken their foliage. This will put the tubers in dormancy. As long as they aren't subject to a hard freeze they'll be fine and will start growing again in the spring.

Thanks.
I came here from zone 9, Lake Tahoe area.

crittergarden said:Thanks.
I came here from zone 9, Lake Tahoe area.

Quite the change! You must feel like you're having to learn to garden all over again.

Didn't get much gardening done in the first house - HERDS of deer in the mountains and no $ for fencing..... DID study and pay lots of attention though. Kind of like a preliminary course for here in zone 5.

That's interesting, I moved down here from Z5 a few years ago, central OH area. It is very different. No idea what to tell you about the Dahlias, but I'd probably get nervous around 45.

I have the answer! They can stay out until 32!
I always put all my indoor/outdoor plants in clay pots so I can easily remember which to grab and not miss any.
The clay, if wet, will crack at 32, so that's when I do grab.
Luckily, people who know have told me that's fine for dahlias as well.

Joy said:Crittergarden, I live where dahlia's can survive our winters in the ground, but I've been growing them in pots here for years. So I do put them in my shed every year. I wait for the first frost to blacken their foliage. This will put the tubers in dormancy. As long as they aren't subject to a hard freeze they'll be fine and will start growing again in the spring.

This is a great idea Joy. I know most are supposed to be ok to zone 8 but I have never had one come back. Someone said they might be rotting but I really do not think they are hardy here.

Susan, The USDA's zones are only taking the winter low tempts into account.
I know there's at least one of the top Dahlia growers here in Washington state. Maybe it's just that our climate is more to their liking?
I know many people here that grow them in the ground. They do need very well drained soil or they can rot if they set in soggy conditions for too long.

Thanks., I will try the pots and see what happens. Zone 8 temps are averaged out here and occasionally even if only one day per winter we will have zone 7 temps and get a good ground freeze.
The hostas love it but I will loose some of my zone 8 plants, so I do try to avoid them. Unfortunately one day or two is not a good enough cold spell for most dormants which I also love.

I grow quite a few Dahlias and have decided this year to leave them out. In Pittsburgh the snow cover will not harm your Dahlias as much as the rain and soaking, and in my experience it is the rot caused by soaking that does the damage.

My Dahlia beds are set up to drain, but if you leave the plants out you have to watch that you block the shortened stems when you cut the plant back, as each of these is a conduit for water to the centre, and while you will prevent the freeze from damaging the plants if you put enough compost on top, I think I will also put down a plastic hat or waterproof membrane over each crown on top of dry compost ( with some slug pellets), and pin the plastic hats down with pegs.

Six inches of local compost, plastic hats and pegs will stop the water, hopefully stop the frost, and the slugs.

I will let you know how this works. I have not been diligent enough to keep the tubers well in previous years when I lifted them, though I let about thirty I did lift last year get very dry, and almost to a plant they all came back in gangbusters fashion.

Here is a photo of Dahlia "Ruby".

(Maybe lift some, leave some in, store some different ways, protect some different ways is the route forward).

Very beautiful, thanks for sharing and please let us know how it goes.

Yes, please let this newbie know how this goes!!!!
Having only 2 pots, I brought them into the basement this week. They did well in their pots over the winter last year, so I hope they will do this year.

Any and all wintering suggestions welcome!

Not sure where you are at Cantillon, but I am in the Pacific NW, zone 8. I agree that the standing puddles are worse on left-in-ground dahlias than freezing weather. Advice from a local grower was to dig up half of each plant for winter storage (as a backup) and leave half in ground. I typically just left mine in-ground and hoped for the best. Some years I am luckier than others. I'm currently down to one NOID plant and am considering starting over next spring with actual named cultivars so I know who's who. They are such a welcome spot of color in the late summer and fall. Here's who I fondly call Last Man Standing:

Hi Deb,

I think that photo may be D."Barbara's Pastelle", aka or synonym, "D.Sunlight Pastelle"

The one below is D.Taratahi Ruby from my driveway, I recommend it for flower form, and is probably best clipped a few days after it looks its best, as the heads get too heavy for the long graceful necks. It keeps flowering though. The heads are about eight to ten inches across and held well above the green foliage. The second photograph shows the lovely mild lighter red core with a suggestion of yellow.

Thank you - that could well be my mystery dahlia. Another possibility is Star Elite. I'll have to take some more pics next year so I have more than one bloom to compare.

Think small/medium sized dahlias are my favourite sunshine fillers for small areas.

Hate to pull them up, but need to to be able to plant spring bulbs.

October 20, 2013: