Clueless on bulbs (and other flower bed questions!)

[Plot70]

I have had plenty of flowers on some dahlias that were left in the ground last winter.
During the previous winter they were moved with large root balls and also gave a good display.
I just wait until the frost shuts them down and the canes have dried off and then leave the canes over the tubas to keep the worst of winter off them.

[Babru]

I left a couple of dahlias in the ground last autumn, and, given we had a fairly cold winter, was surprised to see them emerge in the spring. However I found they struggled to do well because of slug/snail damage. I don't plant out the lifted ones till they're well away, and the snails can't overwhelm them.

[Gearoid]

I have sandy soil so I leave my dahlias in the ground over winter and they usually come back, even through snowy winters. I find the main problem is protecting the young shoots from slugs and snails when they emerge.

[Iris_Germany]

Is the question solved with the lilac flower?
I have not read all the comments.
I reckon, plant no. 4 are Ageratum houstonianum.

[bramble]

I leave my dahlias in the ground year after year and they come back fine.
I bring my canna lily's into the unheated greenhouse.

[Iris_Germany]

I leave my dahlias in the ground year after year and they come back fine.
I bring my canna lily's into the unheated greenhouse.

Hi Bramble, I envy you! The climate where I live does not allow it to leave the dahlias outside. A lot of money I spent the last years, buying always new bulbs because I wanted absolutely cute dahlias.

I have found a way to get them over the winter now, but it took really long to find that out: I put them in buckets of sand and see that the sand always is a bit moist. They come home with me and get in the cellar, dircetly on a cold outside wall. And a lid on top that they not begin to sprout. (The cellar itself is too warm.)

Everything else did not work.

[Iris_Germany]

Can I add to the questions? Our basement is a bit damp, nothing significant but definitely a bit. Hits maybe 3 or 4 ºC in the worst of winter. Would that be suitable as a place for storing bulbs over winter?

That's nicely cold. My cellar itself is too warm, alas. Therefore, I put my dahlias directly on a cold outside wall (in the cellar). The dahlias like that.

Btw. After many sad dahlia losses I have found out that the bulbs survive the winter the best bedded in sand. I deg them from time to time, so that there is always a certain moisture. If your cellar is damp anyway, maybe you would not even have to moisten them.

And if you live in a lovely weather country like Spain, maybe you can even let them in the soil outside? When I read your description though, it sounds even worse with the last frost and the cold and snow than in my region in Germany.

[Snoop Puss]

And if you live in a lovely weather country like Spain, maybe you can even let them in the soil outside? When I read your description though, it sounds even worse with the last frost and the cold and snow than in my region in Germany.

I'm guessing Spain is actually quite a bit like Germany, in that central areas suffer from extreme weather. Although we're not that far inland, there's a mountain range between us and the sea, so we don't benefit from the coastal climate. On the first frosts thread, turns out we were the first in the group to suffer from frost this year.

[Iris_Germany]

I'm guessing Spain is actually quite a bit like Germany, in that central areas suffer from extreme weather. Although we're not that far inland, there's a mountain range between us and the sea, so we don't benefit from the coastal climate. On the first frosts thread, turns out we were the first in the group to suffer from frost this year.

Are you talking about the Pyrenees maybe? I have been there on the French side: So beautiful. I loved it.

[Snoop Puss]

Are you talking about the Pyrenees maybe? I have been there on the French side: So beautiful. I loved it.

No, northern Teruel.

[Iris_Germany]

No, northern Teruel.

Looks very beautiful there.