How to store dahlias

Dahlia- perennial plant, but can not winter with open ground. Its green succulent leaf and stem will perish at the first freeze. Therefore, the tubers of the flower should be dug for the winter, save in a warm room.

Dahlias are long-flowering, beautiful plants with a large range of flowers of inflorescences, a variety of forms. Dahlias will decorate any style garden with their unique color. Dissolved dahlia bushes look wonderful and are combined with other garden flowers. Cut dahlias cost up to 2 weeks.

Therefore, the desire of gardeners and gardeners to preserve the tubers of these eye-pleasing plants for a long time is understandable.

How to dig and store dahlias?

• This flower is very demanding of sunlight. However, do not rush to say goodbye to the growing dahlias, let their flowering will delight your eyes until they are not spoiled by frosts. Warm, long autumn with differences in daytime and nighttime temperatures favors better maturation of tubers. For warm autumn, dig up the plant before October 20, but start preparing for it from the middle of August.
• Water the plant if there is an extreme need (that is, during drought).
• In the second half of August, loosen, pile up the bases of the stems of dahlias 15 cm long. Break off the growing new side shoots. Cut off the lower leaves, strip the stems at a distance of 40 cm from the soil level. A week after the dahlia bushes are wilted, they turn black from freezing, start digging.
• First, cut the stems about 10-15 cm in length from the base of the tubers, then cut off the tying to the support. Otherwise, the unleashed stems under their weight will break near the root collar, where the buds are located. And all the roots will be unsuitable for further cultivation.
• Carefully dig around the shrub within a radius of 35 cm. Try not to damage the tubers, carefully lift them with a pitchfork or shovel along with the ground. Do not pull them out by the stumps of the stumps. There is a great danger of their separation from the nest, damage to the kidneys that are at the root. Without them, the tubers will not sprout.

How to store dahlia tubers?

After you have dug up the plant, pour water out of the hollow stem and, without wiping the dirt from the tubers, place everything in the boxes.

Leave them for 2-3 weeks in the room. The temperature in the room should not exceed 5-10 degrees, humidity - 80 percent. Therefore, a window sill may well be suitable for plants.

Then slightly remove the root from the ground. Inspect them carefully, remove small roots, diseased, broken, old tubers. This storage method is suitable for 3-4 year old plants.

Sprinkle all the cuts with ash, crushed charcoal or grease with green paint, a strong solution of potassium permanganate (simply speaking, potassium permanganate). Then sprinkle a little more with sulfur powder, ash, store for storage in a room with an air temperature of about 7 degrees, humidity 80 percent, with good ventilation. It can be a garage, basement, cellar, underground, insulated balcony.

How to store dahlias?

Store dahlias can inside cardboard boxes, plastic boxes. Pour them with dry peat, sand, sawdust. Do not cover the top with a lid.

You can store large root crops without splitting, clearing the ground, not pruning. Keep small dahlia tubers in the fridge. Pre-rinse them with water, pour the raspberry solution of potassium permanganate for 30-40 minutes. Then dry them, but not less than 2 days. Wrap the dahlias in paper, fold them into a plastic bag, place them in the vegetable compartment. Change the paper periodically. If mold appears, clean it off, and air the tubers outdoors for several days.

How to store dahlias in winter?

• Gardeners store plant tubers in different ways. Some use the conventional storage option. Dig, dried. Then cut the stump, shake off the ground, washed and dried again, sprinkled with sand (peat, chips) and sent for storage in a cool place. If you decide to use this storage option, be sure to check the condition of the roots throughout the winter. Do not wrap the burlap in dahlias, as they can dry out.
• There is another way used by gardeners. Dahlias they do not wash. Let them dry in the sun for several days. Large roots divide and leave until spring. Store the roots in the moss (white sphagnum moss) and mint. Moss and mint do not let rot spread.
• The third option, invented by gardeners, is processing with korny-paraffin and whipped egg white. The use of these tools allows you to save moisture in tubers. They are processed in 2 layers. Then they are placed in a box, put in a cool place (on the window sill, near the balcony door, etc.)
• Some leave dahlias in the cellar. But it must be insulated. Not everyone, however, has a cellar. But you can keep flowers at home in the darkest, coolest place. Wrap the roots in paper to minimize moisture evaporation. Do not forget to sign the grade, color.
• Never store dahlias with potatoes.

In the second half of February, the club can be moved to a warmer place. Carefully inspect them for readiness for germination, grafting.

For good germination, dahlias need to create special conditions. They germinate at a temperature not lower than 26 degrees. The first shoots appear already on the 8-10 day, and after 12 days the young plants can dive into separate small pots.

The subsequent cultivation of seedlings of flowers does not require much effort. Plants do not water often, as the soil dries (better spray).

In the spring, clean the nest from the ground, divide it so that there are 2-3 buds, and land. Randomly torn small tubers can be put in cups of peat - let them germinate.

Dahlias are planted in open ground only when there is no danger of frost, and the soil is well warmed (approximately the end of May - the beginning of June). The plant tolerates replanting.

For some time, to protect against sudden sub-zero temperatures, better plant survival, cover the flowers with geotextiles (spunbond) and any other insulated material.

Dahlia pretty easy to care for. They will be able to grow almost everything. To do this, it is enough to have the desire to learn proper care and transplanting flowers. A little harder to keep the tubers in winter. But even with this task you can cope if you act according to the rules and do not forget to check their safety during the entire cold season. Try, follow the advice of knowledgeable gardeners, and your garden will always delight everyone with blooming beauty.