Many gardeners like to decorate plots with dahlias. There are a lot of varieties and species of this proud plant, it blooms to the very frosts. Apparently, therefore, from beginning gardeners you can often hear the question: "Is it possible not to dig dahlias for the winter?"
The tubers of this plant die at sub-zero temperatures, so they must be dug up. Growing this flower is not difficult, the most difficult process is winter storage. If you have never encountered this, the first time you will need to make every effort, then the next time you will not find it difficult.
So when do they dug dahlias for the winter?
If you planted different
varieties of dahlias in the spring and plan to propagate or plant them in certain groups, prepare tags with names or identification marks convenient for you in advance. Tags should be tied to frost, because after them it is not always possible to determine what color your dahlia was. This is done for your convenience.
As soon as the first frost passes, the greens and flowers darken, there comes a time when dahlias are dug up for the winter.
You will need a pruner, a garden rake or a small shovel. To begin, break off the leaves and cut the stem 40-50 cm from the ground. Later, you will cut it, leaving 10-15 cm. This should be done in order to make it convenient for you to dig up the tuber itself. With a garden rake, carefully dig a tuber in a circle, at a distance of about 30 cm, so as not to damage it. Then, from different sides, lift the tuber from the ground, try to do it smoothly.
When they dig dahlias for the winter, in no case do they pull and stagger the stem, trying to take the tuber out of the ground! There is another important point: when you cut the stem, it will have an empty cavity in which water and moisture should not get during further manipulations. It must be removed before sending tubers to the “winter”, otherwise the plant will disappear.
After the tuber is removed, trim the excess stem leaving 10-15 cm. You do not need to completely cut the stem. Remove any remaining soil, rinse with water if necessary. Thin roots at this stage do not touch.
Storage preparation
When dahlias are dug up for the winter, after washing they are treated with any fungicide or potassium permanganate solution. The tubers are lowered into the solution and kept there for 15-20 minutes. After that, they dry well and only then cut thin roots. This will save your plants from parasites. If you accidentally damage a tuber, this place can be covered with brilliant green or sprinkled with crushed charcoal.
Forcibly sharing tubers is not recommended. If they break up themselves into several, then you only need to make extra tags.
Storage
Option One - Traditional
Put dry, processed tubers in boxes and send them to winter in the basement or cellar. This may be another place where the temperature does not rise above 10 degrees and does not fall below 0. Tubers die at sub-zero temperatures. During the winter, periodically inspect your plants, see how they behave, perhaps some of them will become soft or moldy. In such a case, such tubers need to be quarantined (treated) or thrown away.
Option Two - Waxing
This option is resorted to when you need to keep the tubers in an apartment environment. White paraffin candles are melted in a pan, this must be done very carefully. Heated dahlias are dipped in paraffin heated to 70 degrees. The roots are put in a box or box and hidden in a cool place. The method is quite exotic and will require certain costs.
Now you know when to dig dahlias and how to store them. For the first time it may seem complicated, but if you master this science, every year you will enjoy beautiful flowers.