Keeping dahlias at home

These beautiful flowers are able to please us for more than one year, provided that you have provided the right storage conditions for their tubers. However, it is important to begin preparations at the stage of their growth in the garden.

Cleaning and storage of dahlias

Before harvesting dahlias for the winter, it is necessary to check and purge among still flowering individuals. All weak plants, those that blossomed badly and not in variety, with suspicion of various diseases, must be ruthlessly dig out and discarded. Sick plants are even recommended to burn and bury deeply in the ground.

After that, we proceed to dig up the tubers. Before this, cut the stems, leaving a piece of about 8 cm. Take care not to lose the label indicating the plant variety, so that there is no confusion in the future.

It is possible, in addition to information on the variety, to add to the label notes on the best plants - from them, then you can multiply the variety along the best line.

Before digging the root, it is necessary to dig it from four sides at a distance of 30 cm from the stem - then the conductive roots of the plant will be cut off, and the tubers themselves will remain intact.

Excavated tubers are processed. Note that the neck of the tuber is very fragile to reduce this figure, it is advisable to leave the excavated plant to dry for a couple of hours. In this case, you minimize the breakage of individual fragments. Further, the tubers need to be thoroughly washed with water from the ground, and only after that you can begin to divide them. It is very important to leave the bud of the plant on each piece so that a new flower can grow from it in the spring.

Delenki need to be treated from pests, dried within a day and a half. In this case, the drying of the tubers on the cement should be avoided, since the cement absorbs moisture, which makes the tubers wrinkle.

How to store dahlia tubers in winter?

Storage of dahlias at home, that is, in an apartment or in a house - is quite common practice. They are put in the refrigerator, maintaining the temperature in it within + 3-6 degrees Celsius. However, you need to pack them correctly.

The main storage conditions for tubers of dahlias are the correct ratio of humidity and temperature. Many gardeners store dried tubers in plastic bags with vermiculite, preferably a large fraction.

There are negative sides to this method. Vermiculite retains moisture well, so if the temperature rises, premature germination of the roots may occur. To prevent this from happening, you can store tubers in sand or perlite. However, perlite is also not an ideal option - it does not absorb excess moisture, and its dust makes breathing difficult.

Do not try to use moss for dahlia tubers - in dry form it absorbs a lot of moisture through the chur, which makes the tubers wrinkle, while wet moss provokes the appearance of rot on the planting material.

The most reliable way of storing dahlias is to wax them. For this, the prepared tubers are immersed for a short time in the melted paraffin. As a result, processed in this way, the children sleep longer. This method is not suitable for those plant species that are characterized by late germination.

You can store the tubers in the sawdust. In this case, it is necessary that the sawdust is not too small and does not draw too much moisture out of the planting material.

You can store tubers in a bag or any container. The main thing is to provide them with an even temperature during storage without sudden changes and fluctuations. As already mentioned, the ideal storage temperature is within + 3-6 degrees. If the temperature drops below, the tubers will freeze, and if it is higher, then the tubers will begin to germinate early, in addition, harmful microorganisms can become active.