Dahlias: when to dig and how to store? This information is relevant for many gardeners. Indeed, different types of these flowers often grow on the plots: ordinary and double, semi-double. Dahlias are perennial flowers. A big plus of flowers is that they are not afraid of lowering the temperature and bloom to the very frosts at the beginning of winter.
Interesting! The ancient Aztecs already knew such flowers and actively used them. True, the Aztecs did not decorate the space near their houses with dahlias; they ate tubers of these flowers. The stems contain a lot of water, and the tubers themselves were able to perfectly satisfy their hunger. Useful stuff aquilegia: planting and outdoor care photo.
It is not at all difficult to grow dahlias and it is not necessary to provide flowers for eyes and eyes in order to enjoy even their late autumn flowering. But in order to keep the tubers until spring and enjoy flowering again, you have to sweat a little. Consider dahlias: when to dig out and how to store (with photo).
About digging time
Until the moment of real cold these flowers need to spud earth. Otherwise, the sprout buds may freeze and simply do not survive until spring. When it is noticeable that the leaves began to freeze, you can begin the process of digging out these flowers. It includes several important steps.
First, you will need to cut the stems to a level of 15 cm, if you count from the ground. This will help when digging a dahlia not to break off the flowers. Then dig each tuber from several sides. To exclude the fact of damage to the bulb, it is better to dig under the forks, not a shovel.
Next, pull out the flower tubers with a pitchfork along with a lump of earth. It is better and more convenient to carry out excavations together. The stem should not be pulled out of the ground.
Important! In order not to mix up what types of dug up tubers belong to, it is better to prepare signed papers in advance. They will then be distributed next to the storage location of planting material.
The tubers will need to be given a couple of hours to wind off. Then you can wash the tubers of flowers and carefully examine them. If there is any damage to the brown or red color, they must be carefully cut. If this is not done, then during the winter the whole tuber will simply die.
Long roots need to be trimmed to an optimal length of 10 cm. If the horses are thin, they will dry out during the winter, so that they can also be safely removed. You need to remove the roots, which have already managed to become moldy: you don’t have to expect anything good from them during storage.
Important! All work with tubers is carried out with a clean and disinfected tool. Before cutting, the tool must be calcined in a fire, and then cooled.
The forums write that in the fall you can not only wonder when to dig out and how to store dahlias, but also divide the bush. The division process will help the bush rejuvenate. It is important that on each part there are buds and a piece of the neck: then in the spring the divided bush will bloom and delight. Sprinkled parts must be sprinkled with ash: this is required for disinfection. Do not engage in dividing the bush more often than once every five years.
The tubers themselves must be sanitized before folding to dry. For this, a weak solution of potassium permanganate is used, where the tubers need to be lowered for a quarter of an hour. Then leave to dry completely, withstand 10 days in a room with a low temperature and only then lay it in storage.
Where to store?
Dahlias: when to dig out and how to store at home? There may be several options.You can put the tubers in a dry box in one row and put in the cellar, sprinkled with a small layer of dry sand. Several times during the winter, the tubers should be viewed and cleaned of rotting specimens.
Advice! If the planting material has dried up, this means that it does not have enough water. You just need to moisten it a little and then put it back into storage.
Alternatively, dahlia tubers can be stored in paraffin. It is required to melt this component and carefully dip each tuber into the heated paraffin. Then put in boxes, put in a cool place. With this storage method, almost all tubers can be saved.
it basic and useful information on the topic, dahlias: when to dig out and how to store. Each grower may have their own secrets of storage and methods of digging up tubers. But, first of all, to develop our own methods, you need to get used to those that have long been adopted. We hope that it will be possible to preserve all the tubers of these beautiful flowers, plant them in the spring and enjoy long beautiful flowering.
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Irina
For many decades, my mother has been growing dahlias. In the fall, she digs them up, slightly shakes the ground, they are slightly weathered, and then they are lowered into the cellar. Never washes, does not disinfect. Therefore, I think this is superfluous. The easier you take care of the plants, the better they grow. The only thing you need to visually inspect for rotten tubers, otherwise the whole bush will disappear.
Larisa
I also never bother with such subtleties. I dig out with a lump of earth, let it dry well, and so with this lump in the cellar and lower it. In spring, he soaked the ground in a basin with water - all the tubers are juicy, not dry. I hang tags only in the fall, so as not to confuse the varieties.
Mila
Every year I plant dahlias - they bloom very beautifully in different colors and large bushes. Before frost, when the dahlias bloom, I dig them out with a lump of earth, he has potatoes on the roots, I tear them out, put them in a box and cover them with lumps of earth and put the box underground, where the temperature is optimal for storing vegetables and seedlings. In the spring I take it out and put it in a pot, and then when the sprouts hatch, I transfer it to the street.