Start dahlia tubers into life
It doesn’t always go to plan but one of these methods should coax them from their sleep
It’s a busy time of the year if you grow dahlias as it’s now time to wake your tubers up from their winter slumber. I always recommend starting the tubers into life in a pot in the greenhouse or windowsill during March to plant out in the garden later. There are a variety of ways to go about this, but I’d try these methods in the order below and see what happens.
Lights out
As tubers would normally shoot under ground, having too much light and air at the crown can mean they don’t. The answer is to cover the pot in plastic (an old compost bag works well) and leave it covered without peeking for seven to 10 days. The darkness and added humidity will often work. Don’t worry if you have a few yellow shoots; they’ll soon green up.
Split the tuber
Keeping the tuber in its pot, push a long knife (it doesn’t need to be sharp) into the centre of the stem and twist until the stem splits down to the crown. Leave it and see what happens.
Hot water treatment
Give the pot a good soaking with hot water. This shouldn’t be boiling water but it does want to be about as hot as the hot tap will give you. Pour it around the top of the pot enough for it to drain through the bottom. This may seem strange but it has worked for me on occasions.
If none of these methods work, it may well be time to buy some new plants!