General Chat

I am about to dig up my dahlias, can any of you clever people tell me how to store them over the winter, so I can replant them next year? Thank you Sue

I'd like to know that as well Sue. Just how do you store bulbs properly and which ones you need to take out the ground over the winter

Do you have to? Mum used to always do this but one year couldn't do so for some reason and continued to have wonderful flowers the following year and for many more years too. She has little in the way of snow usually though and the garden is on a well drained south facing slope. Louise You should be OK with your mild Island weather to leave all in the ground but wait for the REAL gardeners to advise here.

Hi Louise, I have never been successful in storing bulbs over the winter, so I just leave them in the ground and hope they grow the next year, some do some don't, but I would like to know the proper way. As for my dahalis, again I have tried storing them, but they just rot, so each year I buy new which is a waste of money, and this year I had such a lovely display I would like to re-plant next year. I am sure there is a green fingered person on here who will have the answer. Sue

Thanks Alan I will try that, I'll let you know next year what happens lol. Sue

does anyone know how to successfully change the colour of their hydrangeas? Wherever I plant them they are always pink and i would them to be blue. there is something you can add to them to make them change colour .

Its something to do with the soil Louise, acid and alkaline, I'm not sure which one is for which colour. Sue

My Grandparents used to put them in small wooden crates like greengrocers have - with a thick layer of newspaper in between the well spaced bulb layers. Then put them in the dry but cool shed. I think they spaced the bulbs well so if there was a dodgy one, it didn't spread to the others. Masses of flowers every year.

For Hydrangeas, you need Iron to change the colour. From BBC Gardening - Soils for colour: The soil type determines the flower colour (acid produces blue). To create blue on a limey soil, you can use a special blueing compound composed of aluminium sulphate, although the results won't compare with plants growing in acid soil. Alternatively, grow a compact variety, such as 'Blue Bird', in a large container filled with lime-free compost and supplement its liquid feed with a blueing compound. My mum says put Iron filings round the roots to make it blue. As for Dahlias, if you can't get Tubas to over-winter, buy seeds. MUCH cheaper, and you get a great return. We did the Dahlia trial with 4 packets and had to give half the plants away cos we had too many lol

thanks tracy xx

Louise It helps to preserve the colour if you save rainwater, rather than that which has filtered through chalk as your tap water probably has.

We never dig ours up and hubby is a dahlia fanatic, what we do is after the first frost and the leaves turn black we cut them down to about 4' from the ground, I then take down all my hanging baskets and cut the plants down to the soil level and upturn the baskets over the dahlia crowns basket as well and just leave them there until late spring, the basket wire keeps the compost over the crown hence stopping any frost getting into them, come late spring early summer take off the baskets by now the worms have done a wonderful job with the compost and a few weeks later up come the next seasons shoots. xxhugxx

Hi Louise My husband stores his bulbs in a canvas bag in a dry spot in the shed but about 6 weeks before he plants them he puts them in the fridge. Now I am not the green thumb in the family so don't ask me why. He has gone to bed so can't ask him lol. We live in Australia so don't know if our hot conditions makes a difference. Not much help am I lol Some bulbs he does leave in the ground especailly the small ones that are fiddly freesia's iris's etc Regards Jackie