My dahlia tubers are now well-protected for the winter.
When in bloom, dahlias provide some of the garden's biggest and most spectacular flowers in many different sizes, forms, and colors. However, native to Mexico, dahlias are not winter-hardy and tend to split in freezing temperatures or mold in soggy, wet soil. In most areas outside the warmest regions of the United States, dahlia tubers must be dug up and stored or covered before the cold season. In previous years, we've always uprooted our dahlias and kept them indoors for the winter. Now, we cover the entire bed with burlap and a thick layer of hay. It's proven to be a great solution for protecting the plants so we have viable dahlias come spring.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Remember all the gorgeous, colorful dahlias we had this year? Dahlias are among my favorite flowers. They begin to bloom with great profusion just as other plants pass their prime, and they last right up until the first frost – this season, they lasted through October.
The dahlia garden is located behind my vegetable greenhouse, in an area protected from any damaging winds.
Last month, my gardeners Ryan and Brian cut all the stems down and left them to dry. Always wait until the foliage has turned brown before any winterizing. This is important so that the plant can gather energy for the following year. It will store starches in the tuber which will fuel the initial sprouting in summer. The best time is a couple weeks after the first frost when they’re well into dormancy yet haven’t been harmed by the cold.
Dahlia stems are hollow making them quickly susceptible to rot. This is also why dahlias often have to be staked to help support their very large flowers.
Last year, we decided to protect them in place instead of uprooting them and putting them in the basement – and it worked. The first step is to cover the bed with old burlap – burlap fabric that was too timeworn to use as boxwood coverings. We save these older pieces in a dry area of barn, so they can be repurposed. I always try to reuse, repurpose or recycle everything at the farm.
Here is Phurba covering every area of the bed with burlap.
Phurba also cuts small slits around the granite posts. If you follow this blog regularly, you may recall this area was previously used for growing grapes.
I grow a lot of hay here at the farm. The newer bales for my horses are kept in the stable hayloft; however, the bales that my horses won’t eat are stored here above my run-in shed. This hay is saved and used to help winterize the hoop houses and these dahlia tubers.
The bales are delivered to the dahlia bed in large batches.
And then wheeled manually and carried to their designated row. Each standard two-string square hay bale weighs between 40 and 75 pounds each.
The two work from the front side to the back, lining the bales neatly over the burlap and the dahlia tubers.
Brian ensures the bales are positioned tightly together – it is important to cover the area completely, so the tubers are well-insulated. This process takes several hours to complete.
This thick layer of hay acts as a barrier to protect the plants, much like a thick layer of soil or mulch would do.
Phurba walks over the hay to look for any wide gaps. Any spaces between the bales are filled with loose flakes of hay.
Next, to keep excess moisture from saturating the tubers, Brian and Phurba also cover the bales. They uses old tarps, also saved from another project.
Brian and Phurba spread the tarps across the bed and in between the posts.
Phurba and Brian put down the next tarp, overlapping it slightly with the first one making sure it all looks neat, tidy, and covered.
To keep the tarps in place, Brian ties them down with strong twine.
He secures the tarp at the corners and then across the bed every few feet down its entire length.
Protecting them this way now will make sure we have lots of healthy plants next spring. And, we covered them just in time – the temperatures dipped over the weekend and we saw the first snowflakes of the season here at the farm. How are you protecting your dahlias this year? I’d love to know – share your methods in the section below.
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Here at my Bedford, New York farm, the outdoor grounds crew is busy "burlapping" - a term we use for covering all my winter-sensitive boxwood with burlap.
I am a big supporter of "burlapping" shrubbery for the cold season. Burlap covers protect the tender branches from splaying and breaking under heavy ice and snow while shielding the foliage from strong winds. Burlap is also more effective than plastic because it allows air to circulate through the plants. It is a practice I've followed for many years, and I think it also provides a cozy and pretty look to the winter landscape. This week, the crew finished the biggest part of this project - my long Boxwood Allée.
Enjoy these photos.
I love boxwood, Buxus, and have hundreds of shrubs growing on my property. I use boxwood in borders and hedges, as privacy screens, as accent plants in my formal gardens, and of course in the long allée to my stable. Just before it gets really cold, my outdoor grounds crew begins the process of covering all the boxwood with burlap to protect them from the winter elements.
These pipes are made from rolled galvanized 16 gauge industrial tubing. They are part of the supplies needed for our protective burlap structures. Hundreds of ground stakes, purlin pipes, connectors, nuts, and bolts are used for the project – all parts originally made for greenhouse hoop houses. I knew they would be perfect for covering the big boxwood shrubs around the farm.
To start, pieces are placed along the allée in a production line process. A long piece of twine is used to ensure ground pipes are positioned straight along each side of the allée.
Ground pipes are installed every four feet along the allée. These hollow pipes will anchor the supports.
Then, taller pipes are inserted into the ground pipes.
Small pieces of wood are pounded into the ground next to each steel ground stake. These short wooden pieces provide points at which the burlap can be secured.
These are 10-foot wide bow sections – they will last quite a while and give the boxwood a lot of room to grow. Building the frame at least a foot taller than the majority of the boxwood protects any heavy snow from weighing down onto the tender foliage.
Here is what it looks like once the bow pieces are in place. The boxwood has grown quite a bit in the last couple of years.
These are called tension purlin brackets. They connect the center piping to the bow sections.
Pasang secures the center piece that supports the bow sections.
And then Domi fastens the center pipe to the bow section using the tension perlin brackets.
Here is how it looks once the perlin brackets and the pipe are secured. Any snow that accumulates on top of the finished structures will slide down the sides.
Meanwhile, Moises Fuentes, who helps me with both gardening and cooking here at the farm, grooms the shrubs with our STIHL HSA 26 Battery-Powered Garden Shears. The HSA 26 is lightweight with a rubberized handle for comfort and a secure grip. It is one of my favorite tools to use – so easy and so sharp. It also comes with its own roll-up case to store all its accessories.
The burlap gets reused from year to year whenever possible. When it is removed in spring, it is rolled up, labeled and then stored in the dry trailer barn until it is used again. The labels save so much time because these burlap covers are made to fit precisely over a specific section of the allée.
This burlap is still in great condition – it usually lasts three seasons. Here, Chhiring is positioning it perfectly over the burlap frames.
Even scraps of wood can be repurposed for various projects. Here, we cut wooden stakes into small strips. The strips are about six inches long – just long enough to accommodate two screws that will keep the burlap secure.
To make it taut, the burlap is pulled down and attached to the ground stakes using the strips and screws.
At the ends, Phurba pulls the burlap taut and begins sewing it closed.
To sew the burlap, we use these large embroidery needles. Every grounds crew member has a needle for sewing.
Various birds love to nest in the big bushes, so we always add a few holes for our avian friends.
From the end, one can see how much room the boxwood has under the burlap. This will allow for good air circulation during the season.
Here is one finished section of the Boxwood Allée. The burlap still allows the boxwood to “breathe”, and get sunlight, which is important even during the colder months.
Chhiring finishes sewing the burlap in the last section of Boxwood Allée. It is a time consuming job – the entire process takes about two weeks.
But here is the allée all finished. I’ve been “burlapping” for many years and find that this is really the most reliable way to protect my hedges and shrubs. Covering this allée with burlap gives me comfort that all will survive the winter unscathed. And it is so pretty to see all done. And this is just the beginning… the crew has already started “burlapping” another part of farm – wait and see where the “cover up” happens next.
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