What to do with Dahlias?

[CountAllVotes]

My late husband had a glamorous bright pink Dahlia bed growing in front of the house.

He used to love keeping it up and it was beautiful!

He has passed away and a few new ones were popping up.

Unfortunately, the landscape place I pay to maintain the yard cut them all down after I had specifically told them not to! They are gone now.

I know nothing about Dahlias and how to keep them growing.

Any tips for me on what I should do?

I'm a know-nothing when it comes to gardening and Dahlias.

Any help/advice is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

[TygrBright]

1. Depends on your climate.

They grow from bulbs, but they are not cold hardy.

Back when I had them I had to lift them in the fall, and store them in the basement over the winter.

They may sprout again, if so just let them, they'll use the sunlight to build strength in the bulbs even if they don't bloom.

At or about the first light frost, any sprouts will wither, and you can dig up the bulbs and store them in a paper or mesh sack in a cool dark place. You want to lift them before the ground freezes hard.

As soon as danger of frost is past, plant them with a little bulb food mixed into the soil. They will likely re-sprout, they might or might not bloom the first year but if you let them grow all summer and repeat this, they will DEFINITELY bloom the next year.

helpfully,
Bright

[CountAllVotes]

4. I don't have a basement

Would the garage work?

[TygrBright]

8. Sure, if you can be sure they won't get frozen there. n/t

[Bayard]

2. First of all,

Fire your landscaper! There's no excuse for going against your orders.

Dahlias are actually pretty easy. You plant them from tubers. I didn't get many blooms on mine this year because I moved them to another spot in the garden when they were just starting to get buds. I'm sure with a little compost, they'll take off again next spring. The only problem is, if you get a storm, or a lot of wind, when they are heavily in bloom, the branches can sag over on the ground.

[CountAllVotes]

3. The landscaper is ...

Its a teen rehab place.

I have a big backyard and smaller front yard and property alongside the house.

It requires cutting, trimming, edging, weed whacking, etc.

I don't know of anyone else that can do it for $60.00.

So, I dig them up like now and store them in a large bucket and keep them covered in ... the garage? Or outside?

The climate here is fairly mild year-round but it can be very cold with a lot of rain from Oct. through June.

I see a big one laying on top of the ground out there exposed. Should I pick that one up and store it?

He had a dozen of them going in their prime.

I'm a total idiot when it comes to gardening and plants, I'll admit it.

I do miss them so much as they were HIM.

I'm kind of broke as my late husband left me indigent as I cannot collect his Social Security and I am totally disabled with MS. I don't know that I am physically able to work in the yard to be honest with you. I'm in my late 60's and hanging on by a thread right now. Very SAD.

Damn that landscape company anyway!

[Bayard]

5. So sorry to hear of your troubles

How often are you paying them to come work? If its $60 a week, that's a lot.

Do you know what planting zone you are in? We are in Zone 7 in south central KY, and I don't dig mine up for the winter.

I would rebury any that are uncovered now. They're not ready to go to sleep yet. If it is advisable to dig and store for the winter, you can do that in November usually. I would put down a layer of sawdust or straw in a bucket, put them in, and put more of the sawdust/straw on top. For good measure, you can pack some newspaper on top. They should be fine in your garage.

[CountAllVotes]

6. I'm in the pacific northwest of Calif. on the coast

Lots of fog and rain in the winter.

Rarely if ever any snow.

I'll rebury the one I see out there. It is quite big!

Thanks for the tips.

I think I can handle it!

Well, I hope I can handle it that is!

[Bayard]

9. That's a pretty mild climate then

I wouldn't bother trying to lift them before winter, Just cover with a thick layer of compost, if you can.

I'm thinking you may be able to get some type of assistance with your yardwork because of your physical condition.

DU'ers--who can she contact?

[CountAllVotes]

10. I'm lucky the teen place took me!

The only reason they did is because the people across the street use them as well. Because of this, they don't have to make an extra trip to work where I live. Otherwise, they are booked up with a waiting list!

It is such a scam, this yard work thing.

One guy wanted my credit card number and told me I had dry rot on the back of the house. I know this is not true as I just had the windows replaced and the entire house painted a couple of years ago. There was dry rot, that is why I had to have the windows replaced!

Luckily, my husband was still around at that time. He was a retired Union carpenter so he knew a few things about construction and a lot about dry rot!

One teenager started out at $25 an hour. Then it was $30. Then it was $35. Then he wanted $50. I dropped him and his father as well. The father was driving him around in his truck going from one job to the next. He sat in the truck while his son did the yard work! Don't 'cha wish your life had been oh so easy?

I hope some one replies but I'm not optimistic.

Thank you for your help. I will cover up that tuber out there. I guess I find compost at Ace Hardware? There is one of those not far from where I live.

Thanks again!

[CountAllVotes]

7. $60 will often do for a month

This time of year twice a month.

Other places around here wanted as much as $100+ a hit and were not bonded.

This teen place broke the sliding glass door leading into my kitchen.

Being they are bonded, they paid to have it replaced.

I'm not thrilled with them but I have to maintain the property.

The lot is almost 6,000 sq. feet. It is quite large yet the house itself is only 1100 sq. feet!

Its all I can afford at this point and I can barely afford the $60.00 a month!

Everything is so expensive here. Even the high school kid wants $25 an hr.!

[CountAllVotes]

11. A final answer re: the dahlias

I paid a young man to come over here yesterday and dig up part of the areas where the dahlias were at.

He dug for 2 hours and they were all gone! Nothing!

I'm glad I know now so I won't be wasting any more money watering the area where they were hoping they'd come back.

What I don't like is that he left a pile of soil on a tarp on my lawn. He drove away after I paid him. He wanted to come back and dig some more today and I told him no. He was charging $30.00 an hr.

Was I stupid to do this or what?

Now my problem is what to I do with the pile of soil he left on a tarp on my front lawn?

My god, this seems to never end.

However the dahlias all died along with my husband.

Any ideas folks?

Please advise!

Thank you.

[CountAllVotes]

12. I was stupid!

I got so angry that I moved the huge mound of dirt back to where it was.

It is no longer on the lawn!

That "landscaper" was planning to screw me over real good.

It didn't happen.

How I managed to move that huge mound of dirt I'll never know!

First thing I did when I came into the house was hit the shower and I'm trying to deal with the awful pain I am in right now from taking on such a tremendous task.

My how anger can motivate you!

As for the "landscaper" he can fuck right off and the sooner the better!