[Sheena]

Hi all,

I have had a Dahlia in a pot for a year or two and I tipped it out today to plant in the garden. They are not supposed to be frost hardy but it survived the previous winter in the same pot.

can I tell by looking at it if it is dead? The tuber was large and the bit that broke off looked white on the inside and moist.

I'm assuming if it was dead it would look rotten - does anyone know?

[WG.]

It sounds like it is alive - it is early enough for it to be doing anything, I think.  Dahlia's shoots sprout from eyes on the stems.  The tubers are an energy store only & that is where the roots come from.  So ... the bit that broke off will not develop into a plant.