NW Oregon,
Should my dahlia be breaking ground? I didn’t dig it up last fall. Put a large plastic pot over it to keep rain off and a little warmer. I’ve looked and nothing yet. Could be dead/drowned in spite of my efforts.
It’s probably too soon to see any signs of life yet, but you could dig it up and see what’s going on there, then re-plant it if the tuber still looks viable; i.e. solid, not turned to mush.
I treat Dahlias as annuals up here in Zone 4/5, but once in a great while, if we have a big snow cover (insulation) before we get the really cold temps, I’ll have a survivor or two. Same has happened with Gladiolus tubers.
I’ll be potting up new Dahlia tubers soon, for transplanting in the garden, later.
Thanks for the inspiration; I’m going to go look for good articles on Dahlia growing to share. ;)