It was already dark on Friday night when I remembered that I’d better pick my last five ‘Café-au-Lait’ dahlias before an overnight frost got to them. The very next morning, the leaves on the plants had blackened and wilted.
This afternoon I will cut back my dahlias and throw the stems and leaves onto the compost heap. The tubers will stay in the ground this year with a heavy mulch of compost and grass clippings.
I have decided to leave my sweetpeas up for the winter as they are providing shelter for a tender salvia behind them. Come the spring I will cut them back and lay the mass of stems over the dahlias as protection against late frosts.
I realise it is risky to leave my dahlias in the ground, but last year I lost a good few tubers to squirrels and so I reckon it’s six of one and half a dozen of the other.
In a Vase on Monday is hosted by Cathy of Rambling in the Garden and I do recommend visiting her page to see her beautiful vase of flowers, as well as links to many other garden bloggers who have joined in this week.
How lucky to still have a few Dahlias to enjoy. I grew one for the first time this year and will try to overwinter the tubers in the garage. We’ll see if it works come Spring!
I overwintered mine in a paper bag in a wooden shed and they did absolutely brilliantly. So I am sure yours will be just fine!
Those dahlias make a lovely vase and the flower heads look so perfect. Have all the slugs hibernated in Edinburgh?
Oh Annette, I wish, I wish. The little beasts are everywhere. Today when I was tidying up outside, I found several that seemed completely unaffected by this week’s hard frosts. Having said that, they are not interested in my dahlias at all. They seem to prefer the petals on my poor violas.
I have been waging war against them for years, but sadly not winning. I now know what plants there is no point growing in my garden.
Your Café-au-Lait are lovely and the jug is a perfect container for them.
Thank you very much Susie. These dahlias seem to go with almost every vase I own, so it’s often difficult to choose which one to use.
Great title, Joanna – and I am still surprised that your first proper frost was later than ours! No doubt you are pleased you rescued your C au L before they were nobbled by it – such a pretty dahlia 🙂
We are right on the sea, Cathy, so we just don’t get the frosts that inlanders seem to suffer from. Maybe that’s why we have so many slugs. Yes, extremely pleased I grabbed these blooms before they were zapped!
Good save! I imagine I’ll be out there cutting something before our first frost too. Canna leaves are a favorite for sticking in a vase…
Oh, canna leaves would look wonderful in a vase! Good luck in saving what you can…
As long as your ground isn’t too wet your Dahlias should be OK it really is damp rather than cold that kills them. Lovely vase today, great that you saved them.
Thank you Christina – yes, many people say the same thing. I will bank them up with a good mulch and hope for the best. If they all die, well, it’s only a few tubers to replace.
Good save! I wish I could leave dahlias in the ground, but it gets too cold here. This is the first winter I tried to dig and store, so hopefully, they’ll make it through, fingers crossed!
Oh, fingers crossed indeed, Eliza! How cold is too cold, out of interest?
The grower says if the ground freezes to 6″ or more, they much be dug and stored overwinter. If you get light freezes, but lots of rain, rot is an issue, so they must be covered in plastic and mulched well. We are zone 5 (-20F), so the tubers must be dug here.
Flipping heck. That is very cold. Never mind the tubers… what about safe storage of the humans?!
Ha! Luckily, we have a great woodstove! Outside, I wear heavy, insulated boots and a long down coat, along with scarf, hat and double mittens. I walk VERY fast! 😉
Such a beautiful dahlia. I’ve added it to my must grow list for next summer. I always leave my dahlias in the ground now. I think the slugs go straight for the soft growth if they are suddenly planted out in the spring. I mulch mine with the sheep wool and pine needle mix and that helps keep the slugs off. All the best. Karen
Sheep wool and pine needles? Is that a ready made mix, or your own concoction? I was going to go with shredded paper, cardboard and compost.
Here’s the link for the sheep wool pellets. I also add pine needles as slugs don’t like the resin. Good luck with yours. Fingers crossed. https://www.sarahraven.com/gardening_kit/plant_protection_pests/slug-repelling_wool_pellets.htm
Thank you – that’s useful. I wonder if I can use the needles from my Christmas tree! Although maybe a pine forest would give a slightly better yield…
I’d try the xmas tree. I bet they are spiky and resin-y
Next spring I am buying some Indian runner ducks and a new flock of black rock hens. I’ve always had some while I’ve lived here. But we had a break in from the fox, so we are making Fort Knox. They clear all the cut flower and veg beds of slugs and snails before the growing season.
Ah, hens. That’s the answer. I’d love to keep hens. Do they ever damage the plants?
Bantams are best as they don’t scratch too much. I tend to let them out (supervised- while I’m working out there ) all winter. And then protect crops with netting in spring. Once plants have grown, hens don’t bother with them. But the seedling stage is tricky. I can’t live without them though. They are a wonderful accompaniment to digging.
A brood of bantams to keep you company while digging sounds perfect!
What a good thing you managed to pick your dahlias before the frost got to them. These later ones look smaller but just as pretty. I always leave my dahlias in too. I am convinced that it is winter wet rather than frost that kills them so I cover them with several layers of newspaper under the mulch to help to keep them dry.
Yes, layers of paper seem like a very good idea. Only thing is, the patch is an awkward shape. But I shall see what I can do!
Squirrels are the same the world over it appears! I’m glad we got another view of your beautiful dahlias and I hope they make it through the winter unscathed.
Thank you very much! Yes, our resident squirrels are absolute devils.
Good save! and I love your jug. My mother kept a Wedgewood box like that on her dresser as long as I can remember, it made me smile to see another one.
I love those little Wedgwood boxes. So elegant, and so cheap from antique centres and fleamarkets. I am glad mine made you smile and brought back memories – it always cheers me up too! The jug is quite new, from a local pottery that is dangerously close, just two streets away. I have to avert my eyes as I walk past, but on a bad day such as the one upon which this vase (and another in black) came into my possession, I don’t look away quickly enough, with expensive consequences.
Life is fraught with those little expensive dilemmas. I have no idea what happened to my mother’s Wedgewood box, I will have to keep an eye out for another.
Thank goodness you thought to go out and pick them! 🙂 They are lovely.
I remembered just in time – I would have been very sad if I’d seen them in a frozen state the next day!
Beautiful photo, Joanna. Lovely blooms, jug and other bits.
Thank you Sam
Cafe au Lait is with out a doubt the most fabulous bloom. Regarding slugs I save (and crush) eggshells and scatter them around the garden, they do help with the slugs and add to the soil.