Dahlias can be found in almost every flower garden. However, not all novice flower growers know what to do with these flowers in the fall - dig them up and store them in special conditions or leave them to overwinter in a flower garden.
Those who did not dig up these flowers in the fall have to buy them again at the beginning of the next season. To prevent this from happening, you should familiarize yourself with the rules for digging up these flowers and subsequent storage during the winter.
Miracle flowers and their characteristics
Biologists classify dahlias as members of the Astrov family. Their genus includes 42 species of perennial plants that have very large flowers. They often look like balls. Dahlias are surrounded by numerous legends. Mexico became the birthplace of this now very popular flower. It has been mentioned since ancient times. The Mayan peoples widely used dahlias to decorate their homes, as well as during various ritual ceremonies. The Aztecs made water pipes from hollow stems, and used the tubers for food.
The flower came to European countries in 1557. Since that time, it has gained its popularity due to its extraordinary beauty. Its healing properties were discovered here. The fructose-containing roots have been widely used to treat diabetes. The petals saved from various skin diseases and bites of all kinds of insects. Years of fruitful work by breeders have given amateur flower growers more than twenty thousand new varieties. Among them there are both perennial and annual plants. The most varied shades, sizes, and shapes of this miracle flower still captivate hearts and do not leave many gardeners indifferent.
Dahlias were named in honor of the outstanding biologist, professor, traveler, who in Russia was called Ivan Ivanovich Georgi.
Types of dahlias
Dahlias begin to bloom in late summer and do not fade until autumn. And their smell continues to attract and fascinate more than one generation of flower lovers. In order for dahlias to delight you with their beauty every year, you need to properly care for them. This heat-loving flower does not tolerate the cold season well and may die.
Let's highlight several types of dahlias:
- Annuals.
- Perennial.
Annual plants are less demanding; their life is limited to one season. There are dwarf, medium and tall species. Flowering begins faster in the first ones. Flowers can be grown from seedlings or by planting seeds in open ground. Both methods are effective and depend on the time we have and our desire to tinker.
Perennial plants, at first glance, are more profitable. Once planted, we enjoy their flowering for several years. But this is a mistaken opinion. These dahlias require careful treatment, more time and patience, as they cannot overwinter in open ground.
Germination of dahlias if stored improperly
Unfortunately, even if all conditions are met, dahlias may begin to sprout in the cellar after a period of dormancy. In this case, they are not stored further, but planted in a pot and placed in a bright place at home.
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When to dig up dahlias
Under no circumstances should perennial dahlias be left in the ground over the winter. They will not survive frosty days and will die quite easily. Warmth is the source of life for this flower. Therefore, digging up the plant must be done before the onset of severe frosts and no later.
In different climatic zones they do not occur at the same time. We must take this important point into account when determining a specific date. Our ancestors believed that the rhizomes needed to be dug up before September 26th. On this day, Orthodox Christians honor the memory of the Hieromartyr Cornelius. According to popular wisdom, it was believed: “It’s Corniglia’s day in the yard, every root is in its season.” But taking into account the fact that autumn is becoming warmer every year, and frosts arrive much later, the time for digging up roots may shift.
Dahlia tubers should survive light frosts, but not more than minus 1 degree. This will harden them and improve wintering.
The first small frosts will cause dahlia leaves to turn black. This will indicate the need to dig up the flowers. If there are green leaves, we do not do this, since the plants are still undergoing the natural process of feeding and preparing the buds for the next flowering. Early removal of roots for winter can cause a decrease in the number of flowers in the next season and make storing tubers more difficult.
Somewhere in mid-August we begin preparations for digging. To strengthen the stems and improve the formation of large and healthy roots, we must hill up the bushes.
At this time, monitor watering. It should be moderate, not abundant. Water should not stand around the bush to prevent mold from forming. It can cause the tubers to rot and they will die.
How to dig up dahlias correctly
Having decided on the deadline, it is necessary to follow all the rules for digging up tubers. Under no circumstances do we do this by pulling or simply digging.
This process is not very labor-intensive and will not take much time if we strictly adhere to a specific algorithm of actions:
- We cut off the stems, leaving 15 cm to the rhizome.
- We hill up the bush.
- Carefully dig up without pulling the stems.
To avoid damage to the root system and not to tear off the neck of the flower, we dig up the bush on four sides with a pitchfork. At the same time, be sure to maintain a distance of 20-30 cm from the stems. Then gently press the tool, lift the plant above the ground and place it to the side. You can trim the stems after digging them out of the soil.
We do not cut the stems close to the rhizome. This can cause infection to enter. We use pitchforks. This will help avoid damage to the tubers.
Preparation for storage
We will divide preparation for storage into several stages:
- Inspection and drying.
- Shortening.
- Division.
- Washing.
- Disinfection.
- Drying.
Inspection, drying, shortening, dividing
Having dug up the bush, remove the soil from the tubers and dry them in the fresh air for several hours. We avoid direct sunlight. Next, carefully examine the roots of the plant. We trim long root vegetables using pruners, scissors or a garden knife.
We must disinfect all garden tools by holding them over a fire for some time. We definitely do this when moving on to working with other types of dahlias.
If we find weak and damaged tubers, we safely remove them. We also carry out the division process in the fall. It involves separating the tubers from each other. When an infection occurs, we thus avoid the spread of the disease to healthy areas. This will be much more difficult to do in the spring. The roots become rough over the winter and are difficult to cut with a knife or pruning shears. With the help of division, we rejuvenate the plant and save the bush from aging. This is also an excellent way to propagate a flower. So division is a very useful procedure for dahlias. Each root should have two dormant growth points and a separate tuber with a bud, which will feed the growing sprout in the spring.
Washing, disinfection, drying
After dividing, rinse everything well with water and dry. The next step will be to treat the roots with any fungicide, which is always available in specialized stores or pharmacies. We carefully study the instructions for a particular drug so as not to harm the rhizomes. Manganese is considered the most common folk remedy, which is almost always at hand and is widely used for these purposes. Processing root vegetables is not at all difficult. We do this in the form of spraying or short soaking, about 20 minutes, in a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
We carry out the processing in protective gloves to avoid the negative effects of chemicals and to avoid burns.
Pay attention to pop-up tubers. We safely take them out and throw them away. These plants cannot be planted for the next season. They are unsuitable for further use. We will spend no more than an hour on the entire procedure. We crush the stem sections with wood ash or dry lime to avoid rotting.
In order not to get confused in the names of the varieties, we will definitely mark the tubers with tags. We hang them on the remains of the stems or glue them to the root vegetables. You can simply write the name of the variety on them or make a brief description. The next stage is drying in a dark, cool place for 6-7 days. You can safely use a window sill in the apartment. In a private house there is a veranda and a greenhouse. You can achieve maximum moisture removal from the tubers by placing them upside down. During this time, the roots will dry out and the cuts will become coarser.
The most ideal temperature for storage is +5 degrees. During the winter, we must, if necessary, inspect the tubers and stems of the plant for rotting, germination or drying out.
Storing in paraffin
Take a piece of paraffin and melt it by lowering the container with it into hot water heated to a temperature no higher than 60 degrees. Then the roots are dipped in paraffin and dried, the procedure is repeated 2 times. Then they are packed into bags or boxes, sprinkled with sawdust.
In preparation for storing dahlias in paraffin, the high temperature kills most pests and pathogens.
How to store dahlias in winter and where
Storage options include:
- Basement, cellar.
- Apartment.
- House.
Any method is suitable for storage. It will depend on your capabilities and desires. Let's take a closer look at the features of each option.
Basement, cellar
When planning to store dahlias in a basement or cellar, you need to know what humidity and temperature remain in the room throughout the season. These factors significantly affect the quality of planting material.
Tall boxes made of any material are ideal for such storage: wood, cardboard, plastic:
- Cover the bottom and sides with strong wrapping paper.
- Pour at least 5 cm of dry soil.
- We lay the rhizomes in one layer and cover them again with soil. We do this until we fill it to the top. We try to avoid any voids; to do this, you can shake the boxes a little.
- Cover the covered tubers with paper or burlap.
We also use racks on which we lay out the prepared dahlia roots. At least once a month we must inspect the planting material and remove damaged specimens. If the room has low humidity, be sure to spray it with a spray bottle. A warm and humid cellar is not suitable for storing root vegetables.
The basement must have ventilation, temperature +5, humidity 60-80%. Under these storage conditions, the roots of dahlias will not deteriorate and will be perfectly preserved until the new season.
How to store dahlias in winter in an apartment or house
It can be quite difficult to create ideal conditions for storing rhizomes in a house or apartment. After all, you need the right temperature and humidity. Let's not despair. And in this situation there is a way out.
When storing, we adhere to certain rules:
- We start with choosing a location. A pantry, vestibule, a place near a window or balcony door are suitable. As a last resort, a place in the toilet near a pipe with cold water will do. You can allocate a shelf for vegetables in the refrigerator or a place on the glazed balcony for storage.
- Indoors, be sure to isolate the stored tubers from warm air flows. To do this, wrap them in several layers of fabric, then use foil. On the balcony, warm old clothes or outerwear will help protect you from the cold. You can also use foam. But it should be remembered that we store here only until it gets very cold, then we move it to a more comfortable room.
- Place in the refrigerator, mix the roots with the existing substrate and place in a bag. It must have small holes.
If we store dahlias in the apartment until spring, then after digging we don’t shake off the soil, but leave a lump.
Dry it on newspaper or paper. Place in a box or drawer. Cover with sawdust, polystyrene foam or moss. Only in the spring do we shake off the soil and separate the tubers. We inspect the planting material once a week.
Storing in vermiculite
Use paper bags, boxes, cardboard boxes as containers, add vermiculite and add tubers. Vermiculite does not rot, is not susceptible to rodents and does not absorb moisture.
Dahlia roots are perfectly preserved in it until spring.
Storage Methods
How to store dahlias in winter? Every novice gardener asks himself this question. The answer will help us give knowledge about the methods of storing dahlias.
Let's highlight the most interesting and effective:
- Paraffinization.
- In boxes filled with sawdust.
- Using garden vermiculite.
- In sand boxes.
- In a shell made of clay.
- Using film.
- In the peat.
- In pots.
- With a lump of earth.
- On the street in the ground.
Waxing
Paraffin is a pretty good means for high-quality preservation of planting material. It will protect against mold and drying out of rhizomes in winter. During processing, due to the high temperature, all pathogens of the disease die. Paraffin is easy to obtain from ordinary candles that everyone uses in everyday life. To process 6 small tubers you will need 1 candle. We take a few pieces and three on a regular grater. Dissolve the resulting mass in a water bath at a temperature of 60 degrees. With or without a fixative, dip the tubers into the resulting solution and let cool. We repeat the procedure several times to form a denser protective layer, which should be about 2-3 cm. It will help to further protect the root crops from the negative effects of the external environment. Afterwards, we place the roots in bags and take them to a dark, cool place for storage.
Also, waxed material can be safely stored in the refrigerator. With the onset of spring, during the preparation of planting material, carefully remove the paraffin protection. At the same time, we try not to damage the tubers. It can be planted without removing the protective layer; it will not cause any harm to the plant. Take the roots in your palm and rub them lightly. The paraffin will begin to crack. This will be quite enough for bud germination. Using this method will bring you 80-90% preservation of plant tubers.
This preservation method is more suitable for early varieties, since the awakening of the buds occurs later. It is also ideal to use for those types of dahlias that have a naturally thin tuber.
How to store dahlias in winter using garden vermiculite
Modern technologies make it possible to constantly use something new in the process of growing and preserving plants. Vermiculite is a mineral that has a layered structure and is widely used in plant growing. Agrovermiculite has become a frequent guest on the shelves of gardening stores and is loved by flower growers. It is used as a growth stimulant, to improve soil composition and for winter storage of planting material. This is an ideal means for high-quality preservation of dahlia rhizomes. It will help protect tubers from rot and fungal diseases. All that is required is to put the material in bags with small holes and fill it with store-bought agrovermiculite. In this form, dahlias will be perfectly preserved until spring in an apartment or house. The preservation percentage will be 90-95%.
In boxes filled with sawdust
Sawdust is a common natural material that is formed from cutting trees or any other wood. They are used to fertilize the soil, retain moisture in it and for winter storage of fruits and rhizomes.
To successfully preserve dahlia tubers, we take only large sawdust or shavings.
Pour dry wood material into the bottom of the box and place flower tubers on top. Forming dense rows, we constantly sprinkle the roots with wood particles. We try to avoid voids and shake the container periodically. Such boxes with dahlias should be stored in not very warm rooms. Sawdust tends to dry out and can lead to drying out of the planting material. If there is no suitable room, do not forget to periodically spray the wood particles with water. Storability of tubers is 80-90%
We do not do this generously, as this can provoke the appearance of mold. This will lead to the development of root disease and a decrease in the quality of the material.
How to store dahlias in winter in boxes with sand
This is an ideal option for storage in basements and cellars. How to store dahlias in winter in boxes with sand. This artificial material tends to absorb moisture. This will help prevent the dahlia tubers from drying out and preserve their quality. It is strictly not recommended to use this method in dry rooms, as this will lead to drying out of the plant’s root system. If you don't have boxes, you can replace them with regular buckets. We lay the planting material according to the same principle as with sawdust. We use only dry sifted sand, do not forget to fill all the empty space, periodically shaking the box or bucket. Thus, we will prevent air from reaching the roots of the plant. Cover the top with burlap. The preservation rate of dahlias is 85%.
The air humidity where dahlias will be stored in boxes with sand should be at least 85%.
In a shell of clay
Since ancient times, clay has been used by humans to protect against moisture; it is capable of fighting germs and bacteria. To store dahlia tubers we use a clay shell. It's very easy to make. To do this, prepare a solution. We dissolve the clay in water so that the result looks like thick sour cream. We'll add a little fungicide there too.
Dip the dahlia root system into the solution and dry it in the open air until a hardened crust forms. We do this without exposure to direct sunlight. It is best to dry in the shade on a balcony or in a summerhouse. During spring planting, carefully remove the shell so as not to damage the roots. We don’t worry if some of the clay remains. It will dissolve in the ground over time and will not harm the plant. This method saves planting material by 85%.
How to store dahlias in winter using film
For these purposes we use regular film. You can use food grade or the kind that is used for greenhouses and booths. We first disinfect the tubers by treating them with any fungicide or sulfur powder. After this, wrap it in several layers of film and place it in a prepared container.
We store planting material in a dark place. Don’t forget to periodically inspect the tubers and remove spoiled ones.
In the peat
Peat is widely used to improve soil structure. Flower growers widely use it not only as an organic fertilizer, but also for storing dahlia root crops. To do this, place the prepared tubers in layers in boxes, buckets, barrels on a layer of peat and carefully sprinkle them with the peat mixture. We try not to leave any air spaces. Then we move all this to the basement or cool room where there is no access to light. The preservation of roots is 80-95%.
In pots
Pots are an ideal option for storing dahlia tubers. Their size will depend on the size and amount of planting material. Their advantage is that you can place only one rhizome in one pot. This will protect against the spread of diseases during contact with other tubers. Pots can be filled with peat, sawdust, earth, sand. Store in a cool place with appropriate air humidity.
With a lump of earth
This method is widely used by those gardeners who do not have basements for storage. After digging, we leave a lump of earth on the dahlia bushes. We cut the stems, dry them a little and place them in boxes. We fill the container with leaves and sawdust, which we prepared in advance. We store planting material at temperatures from +12 to +15 degrees. This option is suitable for an apartment or house where there is no cellar.
On the street in the ground
The method is proven, reliable and effective. Suitable for those flower growers who live in their own home or country house. We will need:
- The barrel is plastic or plastic.
- Wooden box.
- Polyethylene.
We wrap the prepared roots in soft cloth or thick paper. We put them in a barrel. Close the lid after making holes in it. Then we dig a hole. Its depth will depend on the height of the barrel, which we must completely bury. But first we will cover the lid with a wooden box, wrap it in polyethylene and cover it well with earth and leaves. The box will allow the tubers to breathe. In winter we add a large amount of snow, if available. In the spring we will be surprised by the results obtained. The tubers will look as if they were just dug up from a flower bed.
Throughout the season, we be sure to inspect the planting material for damage and decay. We do this at least once a month. If diseased roots are found, we remove them to protect other samples from infection. When dry, lightly spray with water.
In March, we bring the planting material into warm rooms for germination before planting. At the same time, we arrange the root vegetables in one layer.
We do not store dahlia tubers next to vegetables and potatoes. There is often high humidity near vegetables, and this can provoke the occurrence of fungal diseases. And subsequently it will lead to the death of the tubers.
Storing dahlia tubers at home
Preparation for storage at home is carried out in the same way as for storage in the basement; the roots are placed in a plastic bag with sawdust, placed in a box with sand or a box.
Next, they are taken to a dark room with little humidity, but with the possibility of ventilation, or ensure the absence of light by tightly closing the boxes, where the dahlias are stored until planting.
A great place could be a balcony while there is no frost outside, the vegetable section of the refrigerator or a dark room.
As in the case of the basement, the roots are inspected and damaged ones are removed.
Although storing plant tubers is a rather labor-intensive process, and how to preserve dahlia bulbs, everyone decides for themselves, choosing the most optimal option. But when you see this beautiful flower bloom, you forget about the problems it caused.
