As a child I helped my father every year lift the tubers and store them in a cool place. When we had our own garden I was delighted to find dahlias and so did exactly what my father and I had done for years.
Disaster. They all rotted. I couldn't explain why.
So in recent years I have planted tubers and left them in the ground and this year was the best display.
However if we get a very cold winter like in 2010 I will probably not have any tubers left.
The frost here has already killed off the foliage.
No, you don't have to wait for the frost to kill the foliage, although as bertrand-mabel says, the longer you leave them, the more growth the tubers will make. I have always lifted mine in late October, early November.
Walk out to winter, swear I'll be there. Chill will wake you, high and dry You'll wonder why.
If you're in a very wet area, it would be better to lift them too, even if you haven't had frosts. In a milder area, you may not get too many frosts by this point, but leaving them until much later than this means a risk of them rotting instead, so the timing is important. A combination of cold and wet is fatal. You can really only leave them in the ground if you have the right conditions for them.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
Yep done that thanks, only taken up the ones where foliage has died, left the others.Thank you all, fortunately not much rain in Essex last month or so
Ah - I think a lot of people in Essex leave them in the ground, as it's such a dry area. It might be worth experimenting - leave some and lift some. Even a mulch of compost or a cloche with fleece can be more than enough to guard against cold.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
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I have always lifted mine in late October, early November.
Chill will wake you, high and dry
You'll wonder why.
In a milder area, you may not get too many frosts by this point, but leaving them until much later than this means a risk of them rotting instead, so the timing is important.
A combination of cold and wet is fatal. You can really only leave them in the ground if you have the right conditions for them.
It might be worth experimenting - leave some and lift some. Even a mulch of compost or a cloche with fleece can be more than enough to guard against cold.