Overwintering dahlias in cold zones!

Can you leave your dahlias in the ground in a cold zone 5? YES, and here's how we overwintered our dahlias in one of the coldest winters in a long time here in Colorado!
Digging and storing dahlias can be intimidating, and for a long time those of us in cold zones had to struggle through the fall digging, washing, and painstaking storing of dahlia tubers (which, if you've tried it, you know is harder than it looks)! NO MORE! Check out how we overwintered our dahlias in the garden using leaves and tarps!

[@marthamcauliffe]

This is amazing! I’m in 6a and never planted dahlia tubers until this past summer because of the work involved in lifting , storing, saving, dividing. But of course, as you all can relate to … once you grow Dahlias … you are utterly and completely hooked and I thought … well, maybe I could at least have a small dahlia area. With this … oh boy …game changer! Thank you for all that you are teaching me as a 35 year home gardener who has never loved garnering more than I have the last 2 years. Between you, Danielle at Northlawn Flower Farm, Erin at Impatient Gardener and Laura at Gardens Answer, it’s been so amazing how my gardening has changed. I sow my own seeds and have found a newfound love of gardening! Thank you to all of you young gardeners for making me, a 63 year old gardener, love gardening more than ever before! 💕🌺🌸🥰

[@tbear1111]

That’s so sweet and inspirational as well!

[@autumneidson]

I overwinter here in 7b only my seed started dahlias, they always come up esrlier and super strong. I still always pinch them and stake them. We have some amazing new varieties down there. I'll dig and split this year so I can share them with others.

[@pintsizestories196]

I am definitely try to overwinter my dahlias in my zone 4 garden. I only have two plants so not a big project :)

[@brendarosenau5880]

I am in zone 6b, and I tried overwintering my dahlias this year for the first time, too. It worked beautifully! You definitely need to take precautions to prevent moisture, but the benefits far outweigh the consequences. I enjoy your channel so much! Thank you for all of the effort you put in to sharing your knowledge with us all. ❤😊

[@Riti_Roots]

Stoppppppp that’s awesome! Super congrats to you! 🎉🎉🎉 I’ve heard people’s success stories but never seen it in action. Definitely going to try this season.

[@juha7830]

Thats amasing, thats a game changer. Im gonna grow lots of dahlias this year if it is that easy. Thank you for sharing.

[@lindahopps739]

Congratulations! This could be quite a game changer for a lot of people. My Dahlias are planted in with perennials in different gardens, so it wouldn’t be possible for me, plus I’m in zone 4-4b. But good luck to all who try this method.

[@sarahb3565]

Didnt think about frost cloth too... I had a baby last October with 75 to dig, so this might help going forward with a lot less time on my hands to baby things other than my baby... Haha thanks!

[@shannonmurphy80]

I just saw another video about a lady who does this in Zone 7 and was trying to figure out if I could do it here in Santa Fe. So cool to hear that it worked so well for you up in CO! Game changer for real.

[@ourcozygarden]

Wow, that’s great success and saves tons of work time. I highly doubt we can do that here in zone 3 😂 but awesome progress for you guys.

[@thecakepopsistars]

Congratulations on a successful outcome! Incredibly promising for a lazy gardener like me. Thank you so much for sharing your experiment 😊

[@irenetorres8073]

Thanks Bri! This is Irene with Line in the Sand Fsrm LLC first year flower farmer! Going to try it on half of my seed dahlias. I’m Northwest Indiana and I have 4 full boxes of tubers approximately 60-70 and the last 20 I’m trialing. We have well draining soil and I accidentally overwintered Hibiscus! I mulched and tarped area to have it ready to plant in Spring and low and behold they grew back!

[@2BitRanch]

Awesome! I am able to overwinter here in Zone 9 Ca desert but I had to dig and divide this year. That is a ton of work. So glad u found an easier way.

[@Thankful_.]

I’m so excited for you! Very cool!

[@ameliechartrand3218]

I'm in Canada - zone 5b, relive on a sand pit so everything drains very well. I will be giving this a try this fall. I'll try with my least favourite varieties.....would'nt that be a game changer!!!

[@JudicialMermaid]

Oh my gosh! This is such a game changer and perfect timing! I’m in 6a Indiana, and we are expecting to have a pretty harsh winter this year (2023). I’ve bought some extra frost/crop covers and will have the hubs start bagging up extra grass and leaf clippings next month. If this is a success this winter, it really does help cut down on time! Lord knows gardening, working, and raising a bunch of kiddos is exhausting! 😂 Thanks as always! ❤

[@RelaxingMusicnHealing]

So nice teaching guides Thank you so much good information

[@RevAcres01]

Crazy!! This is a game changer for me. Planting 50 - 70 varieties and adding on each year I'm in zone 4b Minnesota. I plan to use your over wintering method this year. Thank you for the experiment.

[@Blossomandbranch]

Such a game changer here too!!! Let me know how it goes for you-the thicker the better with the leaves!

[@curtist358]

Same for me, 4b in MN. Idk, I might try it with a sample to see how it goes. I can't risk losing all of them! 😰

[@olgak506]

I don't believe it will work in MN, no way , we have way too much snow and our soil freezes completely, in Colorado snow comes and goes , never stays long enough... may be if you build a cold frame for your dahlias plus mulch - you have a chance, I would hate for you to loose your dahlia crop if it doesn't work , please be very careful

[@sheylaboucher3829]

Yes, I think I will try a few plants in my zone 3. Here we have enought snow to protect even if it is colder for a longer period.

[@torontohomestead9254]

I'm so excited to try this.

[@kimberlygreidanus5639]

This is encouraging, yes, I will try to do it here in Ontario Canada, (between zone 5,6 as well) and see where it gets me and the joy of not having to dig them up, clean them off, divide and storage makes me excited too:)

[@rogerjacobs5240]

I did this for the first time last year. I'm in zone 8b in the Seattle area, we're alot milder temp wise here, but way wetter being the maritime northwest. I lost one dahlia to rot, and one didn't come up because i didn't get an eye when dividing it last year. I planted them 6 inches deep. After the first frost they died off, and I cut them back. this year they came back early, and were huge. I had flowers about 6 - 8 weeks before the ones I planted this summer. I'm very interested in the no dig method. You have a nice farm there and beautifully maintained flower beds, good video, thanks for sharing! 😊

[@candiceeckelberry7524]

Congratulations!

[@tulle7358]

That is so exciting!good job! I overwintered mine too..almost same way and unfortunately I had few that rotted. The rest, we will see how they did later on but im so excited too 😀 if this works, i dont mind lose few now and then if i can get away with leaving them in ground- saves me time and space..👍 plus, I would probably buy new each year anyway 😆 there are sooooo many beautiful varieties out there… oh, and I garden in usda zone 8a / Denmark 🇩🇰

[@theartistinyourshoes8135]

This is amazing news and sp helpful! I love dahlias but the digging splitting storing are big now for me just way to much work.

[@MaryMarsh-ex6fo]

I am so glad you tried this. I am in 6b and was thinking about covering them just like you did. We are coastal so might be a different game with the moisture. I will be trying this for sure this fall.

[@lihndanpeioils]

👏👏👏 not be my garden but I'm excited and got some joy. Thank you for sharing.

[@heikedeubner9073]

About half of them get dug, half overwinter in the ground (zone 8b). Some years we lose some to mold or drying in storage, other years colder or wetter winters kill some outside dahlias. I don't mulch or tarp them for fear that rodents would have an undercover feast.

[@beckybrown5800]

I tried this in 5b Wisconsin and did not work for me. However I have very wet clay soil. Is your soil more sandy?

[@kdcm6690]

Overwintering saves replanting work but the dahlias don’t flower as early.

[@MillieOsborne]

I’ve often wondered if this was a possibility in Canada, zone 6b on the East Coast. About 50 varieties, so a lot of work!

[@petefredrick3784]

That's great they survived! Did you dig half out just in case the ones you left in didn't survive? I can't imagine leaving them there to find they all rotted. Especially this spring has been very wet and unusual flooding. I know mine would have rot if I would have left them in this year. You just never know from year to year.

[@kater8730]

I am definitely trying this in Fall. I have three clumps of cafe au lait dahlias and each year I dig them up and store them but something happens where I loose some if not all. I plan on modifying your idea into a small garden using the leaves, then a snow blanket and tarp which I will cut to fit that section of the garden. Then I think I will put a plastic garden pot put on top so I know where it is and for extra protection. If it works great if not well I tried. Thank you for the video.

[@carlas872]

Yay! That's wonderful!

[@tamararobinson2069]

🎉YAAAHOOO!!!!🎉

[@LINativePlantConservation]

Wow thank you!!!

[@Blossomandbranch]

You're welcome! A real game changer!

[@milaedwin-kent5091]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@richbishop7896]

I didn't know it was a possibility.

[@lov3rchelle700]

Planting the dahlias in ground has a higher survival rate than in a raised container bed 😢. My hypothesis is that the ground insulates them better. Im zone 5B and clay soil. I’ll test them for the next season in ground instead

[@Blossomandbranch]

I think you’re correct, raised beds are more subject to temperature fluctuations unfortunately :( I’m sorry it didn’t work for you!

[@YourDreamLifeIsWaiting]

Can you link to those clippers you're using? Are they the same ones you used in the short to cut the tubers apart? Those are the ones I would like the info on. Thank you so much ❤

[@deborahfranzen7058]

Could you do this with begonias?

[@karenbateson8466]

Love this! I have want to try, I’m on zone 8a. How do you think other perennials would fair if they were under as well? Echinacea for example?

[@JotaM-m2u]

I am I live in Lenox iowa n it's my first year growing them I have tons around my deck only I buried mine 2 feet in the ground

[@hmh3808]

Except won’t it take forever to get them going??? I’m happy for you that that’s possible where are you live! I guess if you have professional growing fields where you’re not getting water from other perennials beside your dahlias- and your temperature doesn’t go down to -25 or you don’t have a super rainy spring, ? etc.. would love to hear your updates! I’ve used the same process with more leaf mulch, We have far colder winters than you do but it didn’t work for me…I lost most of my precious tubers, but I’m wondering if it’s because I have incredibly porous sandy soil…? And a perennial garden, where our water can maybe travel more easily underground in the spring? Plus I am in zone 4b, so I wouldn’t even have flowers in time in our shorter growing season if I didn’t pre-sprout my tubers indoors in March, or start them in a greenhouse……great idea for your location though, I just wanted to let people know if they’ve spent a fair bit of money on their tubers- that this doesn’t always work in every location !(and I’ve been growing for 20 years and have tried it all) I would definitely try it again in zone 6 though, w a longer growing season-thnks!

[@Charlie-sh2du]

Do you think this could work for zone 4/5? The only thing I’m worried about is that we get little snow some winters, and with wind. So sometimes the temps can be -10 with no snow on the ground. Do you think the snow is needed to help insulate the dahlias in really cold temps?

[@trinawilliams1395]

I read a comment left earlier about raised beds. I was going to ask if i add a bunch of leaves around the raised beds (16' x 43' x 10" deep) as well as on top of, and then cover it ALL with frost cloth and tarps, or greenhouse plastic, do you think it would stand a chance of working. I'm planting 134 plants this year and it would save my old arthritic body!!! Thanks for your thoughts on this!

[@zdislavajk7066]

Mám špatnou zkušenost s přezimováním citlivých rostlin ve vyvýšeném záhoně v zóně 7b bez sněhu - ale s krytem, lehká půda, velmi suché zimní podmínky. Střední Evropa. Protimrazová tkanina v takových případech nepomáhá (ta je určena proti jarním mrazům a suchému větru - pro zelené rostliny). Snad jedině hodně slámy/ listí (50 cm?) ze všech stran + těžká igelitová plachta (také brání mrazu). Klasický záhon promrzá mnohem-mnohem méně.

[@kathykerwin1294]

Where is the follow up video you said you would post regarding planting spring cover crop of field peas? It would be nice to have that info ahead of time instead of waiting until you actually are ready to kill the cover crop. By that time it will be too late to start the process without all the info ahead of time. Times a ticking and I don't want to wait till next year. Thanks for any consideration. E

[@elainereno9850]

Do you think this would work in a raised bed? Or do they get too cold?

[@juliepuhr9806]

I am zone 5 in central illinois. This year i had a lot of drying our due to my basement is not humid enough. Fo my less than special dahlias i may try this however how thick is the mulch again?

[@SalinaTrull]

Would this work for zone 7b???

[@stestrupholm-dyrkjorden]

Did you overwinter them again this year?

[@Blossomandbranch]

Yup!

[@redhandspunhandwoven6512]

@@Blossomandbranch Hi from up the road in Boulder. How are they looking in year 2? I just ordered more 4x12 raised beds, and am considering an overwintering experiment where I am going to insulate the interior of the new dahlia only raised bed before I drop the soil in & see what happens (with some easily replaced varieties).

[@ivettesantana4319]

i overwintered dhalias accidentally in different areas i left them on 6a but i forgot and left them out and they are ruined aftera surprise freeze