Dahlias are plants of the Asteraceae family. They come from Mexico. The ancient Aztecs satisfied their hunger with tubers, and kept water in their stems.
Growing dahlias is associated with some difficulties, since tubers cannot winter in the soil. Before freezing, they must be dug up, washed, treated with a disinfectant solution, dried and stored until spring. However, the flowering bush is so wonderful that all difficulties and troubles are quickly forgotten.
Dahlia tubers are planted in the ground after the end of frost. More specifically, it is difficult to name the time, since the climatic conditions of the regions vary significantly. In the southern regions of our country, tubers can be planted without additional measures, and in the colder it is necessary to germinate dahlias. The shoots of these plants can not stand frosts at all. If planted ahead of time, then development does not occur in cold soil, moreover, the process of decay can begin.
It’s best to get the dahlias from the store in early April and carefully inspect the tubers. If rotting is detected, then this place must be removed with a sterile tool (a sharp knife can be held over the fire and cool). When cutting out rot, you need to grab some healthy tissue. Slices need to be sanitized, for example, with brilliant green, and dried. In the case of severe damage to the tubers by rot, they can be etched in the solution of the drug "Maxim".
Germination of dahlias is more convenient to carry out in a box with a filler (peat, sawdust or soil). At the bottom of the box you need to pour the substrate, place the tubers horizontally and sprinkle with filler. The root neck (the place of attachment of the tubers to the stem) must be left open. The substrate must be kept moist, not watered, but sprayed from a spray bottle. Eyes will appear in 10-14 days.
It is important that there is enough sunlight in the room. Otherwise, the shoots will be elongated, and the seedlings will be weak. Germination of dahlias can be carried out immediately in separate containers. In this case, the root system will be less injured when transplanted to a flower bed.
If you want (or if necessary) to awaken the sleeping kidneys faster , then prepared tubers can be put in a transparent bag, moistened, covered, leaving a small hole for ventilation, and placed in a bright, warm place. When the sprouts reach 5 cm, the tubers need to be planted in a box or cups.
If the apartment does not have the opportunity (or desire) to carry out the germination of dahlias, then you can plant tubers in open ground without it. Two weeks before disembarkation, it is necessary to get planting material from the storehouse, place it in a transparent bag (do not moisturize!), And place it in a bright place. Sprinkle with water after a week. By the time of planting, the tubers should have small sprouts and roots. Slightly sprouted dahlias can be planted earlier than usual, but with mandatory hilling. Early planting has one advantage: in cool weather, the root system develops more actively than the aboveground part, and with the onset of heat, good roots can better nourish rapidly developing greens.
Growing dahlias from tubers is a troublesome business, but how much joy their magnificent and long flowering will bring!