Hope everyone is fairing well with this horribly cold cold weather. Ok, maybe you aren't experiencing -38° days like me, but it's been darn cold, right now -18°. Kids are going to school today so at least that's good!

Dahlias - now y'all say I'm way too early but I potted up 10 tubers from last year that were stragglers, never bloomed, grew few tubers etc. I figured I'd give them a shot to get going early. I need to decide if I'll just let them grow or take cuttings and root those instead. What would you each do?

I so look for add to being outside again. I have yet to figure out my planting layout. I heard from my church lady and we'll be trading here in the next few months. I have left a bag of tubers for my brother to pick up at my moms, and I'll be setting some aside for my SIL and my boss. And evidently I did ok dividing! As the ones I opened up had eyes with shoot starts. So I'm learning quite well from you all. Thank you for your help!

Look forward to everyone's dahlia tales, expectations and beauty! Stay warm friends and let's hope spring finds us all soon.

I love your enthusiasm! I start my tubers later and later every year. I waited till the end of April last year and the plants were still leggy by planting time at the end of May. Once they start, they grow like weeds. I don't have enough sunny windows or shop lights to accommodate 20-something 24" long planters. And carrying all those in and out of the house for sun gets old very fast. Fortunately, nighttime temps last May allowed me to leave them outside most nights.

I don't like being in a situation where the tubers start sprouting too early like the ones in the photos, ripping their way through a couple layers of saran wrap. I hope to plants bare tubers with just hair roots this year and avoid all the work of starting them early. One reason I bought the small refrigerator for storage was to slow down their growth. I can wait a little later for blooms. All stored tubers look/feel good so far.

Yes, dividing can be a little scary the first time you do it. But no big deal as long as you leave a piece of the collar area big enough for the eye to pop out..

What's your definition of "fairing well"? LOL Our high temps have been steadily in the low-mid 20s and being an avid outdoorsman, this weather is pure torture. Deer archery season ended last week and people laugh when I tell them I'm waiting for it to warm up a little so I can go ice fishing! But I have exercise equipment throughout the house and no excuse not to be using it. So I work out almost every day. We got 4-5" of snow last night and I'm almost happy ... almost... for the opportunity to shovel it!

Dan: no Ice shanty for you? They are dotting all the local lakes right now. Have not read recently of a vehicle falling through the ice but that will be soon at some point.

Can I ask - I see tape in your photos w your tubers - is this just to keep the Saran closed off?

I can't complain here we don't have near the snow we've had in years past. Just this nasty cold Arctic air. This weekend we are to have a warm up so I'm looking forward to that.

If I take cuttings of the dahlias, is it best I root in water?

Yes, I have a shanty but haven't used it in years. I feel being confined in a shanty almost as bad as being cooped up in the house. I need to be out in the open. Besides, it's hard to use a jigging rod of any length inside most shanties. If I need a shanty, I'll stay home that day.

Have you seen any of the many YouTube videos of trucks going through the ice? As long as my legs work, I'll walk out.

The tape secures the saran wrap and also provides a writing surface for the variety name.

I know almost nothing about cuttings. Tried it one time and the cuttings were looking good. But I eventually killed them like I do with almost every potted plant I've tried growing.

I'm the same way Dan. Despite a fair amount of success in the garden I seem to kill all my houseplants.

If there's a record for killing the most potted plants, I'm sure I'm at least somewhere in the Top 10. LOL

It has been ridiculously record setting cold here, too. Yesterday the power company started 'rolling blackouts' due to strain on the power grid, and it sort of feels like the Hunger Games. I haven't had my power shut off (yet), but I did check on my tubers in the tuber room yesterday. It was 37-38 degrees in there!!! I thought about dragging them all upstairs, but they seem fine (just a couple squishy ones I found). I placed one of my last dahlia orders the other day (or so I say), and was SO stoked to finally land a tuber of AC Todo. I was about to take it off my wish list, as I thought it was extinct.

Kudos to you for thinking about trying cuttings, Scarlet! I purchase cuttings, but I have never tried to start them myself. I think most people use basic soil (not potting) or compost mix, but water might be good to try. Keep us posted.

I happened to check Mountain Diva Gardens website just after they opened last night around 7 PM. Opening wasn't listed on Dahlia Addicts at the time. I was able to order Danum Meteor which I thought was gone for good. I ordered 14 tubers in all. Never ordered from MDG before so I'm hoping for the best. Reviews are good. Still don't know what's going on with Clack's Dahlia Patch. Maybe they've closed.

Melissa: for crumbs sake Omaha is rolling blackouts?! How are y'all to keep warm? We've not had any of that here at least that I know of. If we did we will head up to the in laws as they heat mainly w wood. I'd even grab my plants. No actually I might zip them into the greenhouse on the first floor and tuck in bottles of hot water and hope for the best.

I may try both ways in rooting. I'll let you all know how it goes. I'm just curious if they'll actually produce flowers like they would from a tuber. Or would they spend this season just working on growing tubers?

Dan: buying again is always good! I know one vendor I had been eyeballing sent out an email as they had Covid. I'm sorry that seems to have hit anyone and everyone. What a year! I hope you have beautiful selections picked out.

Stay warm friends!

Dan- I've had good luck with Mountain Diva Gardens over the years. Before they opened their website, they used to sell on eBay, and everything was always correctly labeled/healthy. I'm not sure what happened to Clacks, either.

Scarlet- yes, it is the weirdest thing. Sunday night an email came out from OPPD asking everyone to conserve energy (unplug devices, turn down your heat a couple of degrees), and by Monday morning people were randomly getting their power turned off. It was only supposed to be for an hour at time, but some people were forced to wait 2-3 hours. The temp was -23 this morning. Clearly they need to start exploring other options or stop focusing on their solar panels and windmills, as that appears to not be working so well.

On the bright side...5 weeks until Spring!!!

Hey I'm looking forward to 30° up here over this coming weekend and when I looked way ahead for March (barring weirdness) my temps may be in the 50s middle of March. I'll take it! This cold is for the birds. I've got aunties in Omaha so I told my mom to check on them. I can't imagine! Hey if you need easy ways to keep things warm - fill old milk jugs with hot water and store w your tubers and throw some towels over them. Actually I do that when I've moved plants outside to the shelf greenhouse. It can get pretty steamy in there by morning but at least nothing froze and everyone stayed fairly warm.

I anticipate my boxes. We should post our deliveries as we get them. I'm ordering from three new vendors to me this year and of course a small order w swan island. I ordered too many!

Melissa: remind me how close I can plant: I've got mostly 3/4/5/6 foot varieties (yes those that were to be shorter were 6 foot last year ). I plan to expand my bed, but need to know if I'm being too aggressive in what I "think" I can get in there. And I seem to recall you are a firm believer in adding just one more.

Thanks, Melissa! That's good to hear about MDG.

That is a really clever idea with milk jugs/containers! I'll take 50 degrees, too! Also, if you find success with starting cuttings, you will have flowers this year, and they will probably bloom earlier than your tuber planted ones.

We can definitely celebrate and share our tuber deliveries! It always feel like Christmas (when I was a kid anyway) when the packages start arriving. I think my first one will come mid-late March. I've got about 15 incoming orders/75 tubers coming my way this Spring. Sounds nutty, but that is a HUGE improvement for me over past years (my records show that I had 30 orders in 2018- I guess that was a "take all my money" Winter).

As for planting distance- I usually start out trying to plant them 12 inches apart. My intentions are good, but many end up being 8-9 inches apart. As long as I pull the bottom leaves off, weed, and make sure they don't get shaded out, it does work!

Yes I did pretty well w the milk jugs. I'd save the 1/2 gal and placed one on each shelf and throw in towels and it can almost like a sauna. Just a thought in case you find yourself in a pickle.

So look forward to my own blooms as well as everyone else's. I'll take your advice Melissa. The church lady had told me I had way too many per my space (of course she has acres she can plant in) but I maintained weeds and made sure all the leaves were off the bottom of the stalks to give air at the bottom and I kept everyone tied up and as together as I could. I think where my problem w last year was I had some in the shadows of my house. So I'll be moving the space and all dahlias will go where there is more light and less shade.

So yes - hurry the boxes I'm more than ready to get them going!

I hope everyone is keeping warm and safe! The news is very worrying. I hope you haven't experienced any blackouts Melissa. All those people crammed into warming centres is going to have consequences too. 2021 is trying to show up 2020.

Agreed, Hiyam! No blackouts for me, but many people I know were affected (just for an hour or so, but that's frustrating, especially when it's bitterly cold outside). I have family in Texas, and I feel really bad for them. They moved south to GET AWAY from weather like this, and I don't know if they have plumbing/building requisites to withstand ridic cold temps. 2021 seems to be shaking out as a bad talent show already.

Hiya and Melissa: yes the after effects of the weather have been horrendous for a lot of people and I hope for everyone's sake warm weather follows but quick. I know this weekend here we are to be in the 30s this weekend. Yay for that.

Now that February is half done and on its way out we have another month to go through before our boxes will begin traveling to us. Mine are usually the small variety boxes; but I should be getting 4 of them - well I think it was 4. Plus then I'll get a paper bag left on the porch (I hope) from church lady and I'll be leaving dahlias for some friends myself. I love a box full of hope.

I'm more than ready to get planting any and all flowers. When it's cold and gray and covered in white I'm ready for a riotous explosion of color. Hurry spring along.

I potted up a few of my stragglers so maybe I'll have some I can take cuttings from or at least see if they start to thrive this year instead of just limping around. I know quite early, but I'm seeing if maybe a cutting might do better in the long run then the iffy tubers I'm growing from. It's not like I don't have extras to grow from (ok, I did pot up one I only had one tuber of) and ok I'll admit I'm ready for some blooms. Tired of snow - we are to get more snow today.

Hope everyone is doing better and winter is on its way out.

Hi, Trish here, and totally a newbie. I retired last Nov and it's time to start doing what I should have been doing since the 80's...tending to gardens. I try to do research before asking questions but my goal is to be a sponge. I'm in zone 7a (middle TN) and have about 4 very rural acres.

Trish! So are you planning a ton of dahlias for your 4 acres? What a fun way to spend retirement. Have you placed orders?