A new season begins

Welcome!

Year one of having a dahlia farm was somewhat chaotic – we hope year two runs a little more smoothly, so we can take you along for the ride. 

Spring-ing into action

As you may or may not know, dahlias are a somewhat high-maintenance flower (but totally worth it!). One reason we say that is that dahlia tubers (bulbs) must be dug up in the fall and stored indoors until they can be replanted outdoors in the spring (at an indoor storage temperature of 40-50 degrees). There are many ways to store tubers, and we experimented with a few this fall and winter. 

*Tubers can stay in the ground over winter in growing zones 8-11. Where we are in Maine, we are in growing zone 6. 

A single tuber planted in May will grow into a large clump of tubers by the fall. Some people divide those clumps; some do not. Here is what we found out about the various storage methods:

1. We wrapped individual tubers in plastic wrap and stored them inside a refrigerator at around 42 degrees. Result: tubers closer to the outside of the plastic wrap shriveled up, while tubers wrapped further inside often got moldy

2. We stored clumps in wood shavings in tupperware bins (never again).  Tons of mold happened quickly, and we removed the wood shavings within a few weeks. 

3. We stored individual tubers and clumps of tubers in coarse vermiculite in tupperware bins. This method worked quite well; however, it made the routine process of checking tubers throughout the winter more difficult than necessary. 

4. We threw individual clumps of tubers into plastic bins after cleaning them off using an air compressor. This method was the WINNER (not to mention, fun!). 

The field

This time last year, we were wrestling with a very wet field that we had to prepare for growing for the first time. We rented a sod cutter and cut out huge patches of sod in the snow (!!). Then we moved 4-5 yards of new soil with wheelbarrows - mostly in the rain during a very wet spring. We also struggled with several soil issues that affected our plants for the entire growing season. 

This year is off to a much better start. A few weeks ago, we finished prepping our field for planting. Jan moved 2.5 yards of fresh soil onto the field to refresh our rows, and about as many wood chips to refresh the paths, while Christy was away for April vacation week. Thank you, Jan!! At the end of vacation, Christy helped with the finishing touches. 

April 2025:         

April 26, 2026:

It’s all worth it to get these beauties:

Planting

This past weekend, we planted approximately 80 tubers in the first 3 rows of the field. We plan to plant the final 80+ tubers this coming weekend. We had a good system going, and it took much less time than last year. Now we hope for some warmer weather and can’t wait to see how the tubers do. 

Keep flowering, 

Jan & Christy

Maine Coast Dahlias