Dahlia tuber question.

satrdayboy

I have some dahlia tubers which I have overwintered in the garage. They are now into their 3rd year. I don’t intend to plant them out for another couple of weeks and as they are a lot bigger than when I bought them I would like to divide them. There are no eyes visible yet, but as it’s quite cool in the garage should I bring them out in the day to warm them up a bit or do I leave them in the garage until the eyes appear? Thanks 

Dirty Harry

You could pot them up and put them somewhere bright and mild to speed that up.

satrdayboy

Thanks Dirty Harry, so pot them up and remove from pot to split when they’ve thrown a few shoots up?

Hostafan1

satrdayboy said:

Thanks Dirty Harry, so pot them up and remove from pot to split when they’ve thrown a few shoots up?

I'd not pot them up , then "unpot them" as you damage any new roots. 
Looks closely at them and you'll probably find they're already "splitting" into separate plants. You need to find where the bulbous parts meet the top "shoot" and you can often tease them apart.

satrdayboy

Thank you Hostsfan I will have a look.

fidgetbones

Provided each tuber has a good shoot, they will be OK. Large ones will often split into two or three. The trick is untangling them without breaking the tubers off.  Certainly it is easier to split before they start growing.

Hostafan1

fidgetbones said:

Provided each tuber has a good shoot, they will be OK. Large ones will often split into two or three. The trick is untangling them without breaking the tubers off.  Certainly it is easier to split before they start growing.

Indeed so. I find it rather therapeutic finding the "new" plants in the tangle and carefully teasing them apart.