It sounds confusing, but waking up your dahlias is extremely easy! While this is technically optional, I very strongly recommend it if you have a short growing season.
In Zone 3, waking up your tubers between late February (if you’re taking cuttings) and early April (if you’re not) gives you a head start on seeing your blooms. Without this, you might only get two weeks (or less!) of blooms before the first frost hits!
Want to learn even faster? Check out the short below:
How to Wake Up Dahlia Tubers
1. Take your dahlia tubers out of cold storage
Make sure that when you take your tubers out of storage, you look for signs of gall (which looks a bit like cauliflower) and any mushy spots or rot. Toss any diseased tubers straight into the garbage. Don’t compost them! You don’t want those pathogens living in your garden soil next year.
Related: How to Overwinter Dahlias in Cold Climates
If you have these long, stringy, white things (like the tuber in the photo below), don’t worry! Those are just baby tubers that want to live really badly.
If they aren’t too long, they will green up under the grow lights. If they are super long and brittle, just snap them off! The tuber will simply shoot off a fresh, stronger sprout.
2. Put them in the soil
Dahlia tubers don’t need much soil. Mine are just barely covered. I probably put 30 tubers in a tray to save on space and soil!
3. Turn on your grow lights
Keep your grow lights relatively close to the tubers! About four inches away is a good place to start.
4. Water every 2-3 days
Lightly mist the soil every 2–3 days to keep the soil from becoming bone-dry. Once you see green shoots and leaves, start a more regular watering schedule.
Related: How to Grow Dahlias in a Short Growing Season and Cold Climate
5. Take Cuttings
Once things start to green up, if they get too tall, you can take cuttings. Even if you don’t want to keep the cuttings, cut them now so you get bushier stems and more flowers!
Related: How to Get More Dahlias for Free with Cuttings
6. Be Patient
Some varieties wake up faster than others, and some take almost two months to wake up! So, just because you aren’t seeing sprouts immediately doesn’t mean that anything is wrong. As long as the tuber is firm and in good condition (and there is indeed an eye), don’t worry! Good things take time.
Related: Swoon-Worthy Dahlia Varieties for your Cut Flower Garden
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