One of the main garden tasks that I wanted to complete this fall was to begin dividing the dahlia tubers. After the stems of the dahlia plants had turned black because of freeze, I allowed them to stay in the ground another week. At this time, there should have been more than enough time for new growth “eyes” to show.
Above, you see a really nice clump of dahlia tubers after being cleaned. Unfortunately, I don’t know the variety of this one because there is no label. Even so, I’m sure I’ll want to propagate it. 
When dividing the dahlia tuber, we want to make sure that each tuber has a body, neck, and a piece of the original stem. This will ensure that the tuber will be healthy and grow well after storage. 
Dahlia tubers which are packed closely together will need to be separated very carefully, with the use of very sharp pruners. I like to start by cutting the entire clump in half. I find that this makes the whole process easier and more manageable. 
After dividing the dahlia tuber into as many individual tubers as you would like, don’t forget to sanitize your tools in order to prevent the spread of dahlia viruses from one plant to another. In our next post, we’ll talk a little more about storing the dahlia tubers for the winter. Have you ever divided dahlia tubers before? I’d love to hear all about your experiences in the comments below. I hope you’re having a great day!
I love how you post step-by-step photos showing exactly how to do this! We were given a couple of huge mesh bags of dahlias. They were beautiful for 2 years, but I didn’t know I needed to lift them in the fall. On the 3rd year, they never came up. 🙁 I’ve always been broken hearted over them!