When to dig dahlias, storage of dahlias

Even experienced gardeners do not always manage to preserve dahlia tubers in winter. What can we say about novice lovers who have just started growing these wonderful flowers in their dacha, but have already managed to get used to them and love them.

It’s already autumn, it’s time to dig up the tubers and put them away for storage, but there are so many questions at once:

1. When to dig up dahlias for the winter?
2. How to dig up tubers correctly?
3. How to prepare dahlia tubers for winter storage?
4. Where and how best to store dahlias?

We will now answer all these questions.

When to dig up dahlias in the fall

First of all, do not rush to dig up dahlias. Only well-ripened tubers will survive the winter safely. Although the tubers begin to form in the spring, they will finally ripen only in the fall. Therefore, let them sit in the ground for as long as possible, because under no circumstances will they feel better than in the ground. And so as not to worry that a sudden frost can grab the tubers, just bury them.

The signal for digging is the first severe frost, after which the plants take on such a deplorable appearance that it immediately becomes clear - it’s time to dig up these dahlias!

If after a frost the dahlias have acquired such a deplorable appearance, it’s time to dig them up

After frost, dahlias must be dug up within 2 - 3 days for two reasons:

1. Frozen leaves and stems will most likely begin to rot, and this rotting can spread to the tubers.
2. If after the frost it becomes warm again, the growth buds on the root collar may awaken, and this is not at all necessary at the moment (for the same reason, you should not cut the dahlia stems in advance).

Of course, all these recommendations cannot be taken as strict instructions that must be followed. Currently, you can get a fairly accurate weather forecast for several days. If, according to this forecast, frost is expected only in three to four days, and it’s already time for you to leave your dacha home, then without hesitation, start digging up dahlias and preparing them for winter storage. A few days will not play a big role in such a matter.

Watch the video on when and how to dig up dahlias:

How to dig up dahlia tubers.

Before you start digging up tubers, you need to take care of tags with the name of the variety and color. Some people do it differently; they put the tubers in different boxes and label the boxes. In the spring, all these inscriptions will serve you well.

Many people are interested in the question: is it possible to dig up dahlias in wet weather or even in the rain? Yes, you can. This work is, of course, extremely unpleasant, but since there is no other time, we will have to dig in the rain.

Start by cutting the stem at a height of approximately 30 - 40 cm and removing anything that will get in the way. Dig up the bush from all sides, being careful not to damage the tubers and using a shovel or pitchfork to dig deeper under the tubers and turn them out of the ground. The tubers are not located deep in the ground and doing all this will not be difficult at all.

Dug up dahlia tubers.

Resist the temptation to swing and pull the tubers by grasping the trunk. The root collar is extremely fragile and just as important for the life of dahlias. It is very easy to break, so while digging, try not to touch the trunk at all.

Having dug up the bush, carefully clear it of the soil, do not try too hard, it is better to then wash it with water from a hose. Place the peeled tubers in the shade and begin digging out the remaining bushes.

Having dug up all the tubers in this way, rinse them with water from a hose and begin stripping.

• Using pruning shears, cut off all the roots, of which there are many and are completely unnecessary.
• All small nodules and dangling shoots are also subject to culling. Only full-fledged tubers should remain, attached to the root collar and having renewal buds.
• At the very end, cut the trunk very short, it is the one that begins to rot first.Therefore, the shorter you cut it, the better, you can even scrape off the green soft tissue from it.
• Place the prepared bushes to dry, tubers up, somewhere on the veranda, under a canopy.

An interesting way to store dahlias video:

How to store dahlias

After the rhizomes are dug up, trimmed and washed, you need to decide how they will be stored. The tubers are stored either whole or immediately divided into sections. Experienced flower growers often choose the second option, so that there is less work in the spring.

Maybe not everyone knows, but dahlia tubers, in the form in which they were dug up in the fall, are not planted in the spring. They must be divided into parts - divisions.

You can divide both in spring and autumn, but if this is your first wintering, then it is better to postpone this activity until spring. Whole, undivided tubers are still stored better than divisions, besides, in the spring the buds will already begin to grow and it will be much easier for you to understand how many parts to divide them into.

Preparing dahlias for storage

Before storing for winter storage, the tubers are treated with foundationazole (30 grams per bucket of water) or a dark red solution of potassium permanganate. The tubers are kept in both solutions for 20-30 minutes; this treatment destroys all pathogenic pathogens, of which there are many in the soil. Some gardeners do things a little simpler and simply spray the dahlia tubers with one of these solutions.

When storing dahlias in a room with low humidity, the tubers may dry out completely. To prevent this from happening, they can be dipped in a clay mash; as a result, a clay crust is formed, which quite effectively prevents the evaporation of moisture. This mash should be liquid and resemble store-bought sour cream.

Bathing tubers in a clay mash.

After bathing in a clay mash, the root tubers must be thoroughly dried for two to three days and only after that sent to the cellar, where they are stored directly on the floor. This simple, folk method has proven itself very well.

Where can you store dahlias?

Each gardener always has his own experience and therefore tips for storing dahlias may vary greatly. But the basic rules always remain the same: tubers should be stored in the dark, at a temperature of about 5 degrees and a humidity of 80 - 85%.

If the temperature drops below 0 for even a short time, the tubers will die; if it is high, the buds will begin to sprout in the middle of winter.

Sometimes you can hear talk that it is enough to bury the tubers deeper in the ground and they will overwinter right on the street. Don't listen to these people, quite a few such experiments have been carried out and they all ended in failure.

Storing dahlias in sand.

Storing dahlias in the cellar

The easiest way to store dahlia tubers is in a basement or cellar, where the temperature ranges from +1 to +8 degrees and the humidity is 80%. If you have such a cellar, then the problem of wintering dahlias is practically solved for you. In such conditions, tubers can be stored without additional shelter. Just put them in boxes, crates or mesh bags that onions and potatoes are sold in and place them on the shelves in the cellar.

During the winter, especially closer to spring, inspect and discard rotten nodules, otherwise the rot may spread to neighboring sections.

How to store dahlias in the pantry

If you don’t have a cellar, you can try to store the tubers in some kind of utility room, where the conditions for wintering are not ideal, but also not indoors, for example, in a cold pantry, underground, and so on.In this case, the tubers must be sprinkled with sand, sawdust or just earth. In winter, go there and check how the wintering is going; you may have to dry the tubers if it is too humid there or sprinkle with water if they begin to dry out.

How to store dahlias in an apartment

Storing dahlia tubers in the refrigerator Video:

Many flower growers have neither a cellar nor a cold storage room and successfully store dahlia tubers in a city apartment. For such storage, it is advisable to immediately divide the tubers into sections, so they take up less space.

Another very important point. If dahlias overwinter in the cellar, then immediately after digging, after slightly drying, they can be brought into the cellar. When wintering in an apartment, they need to be kept in a cold, damp room for two to three weeks. This is done so that the skin of the tubers becomes rough, then they will be stored much better.

There are many options for storing dahlias in an apartment, but the optimal one is most likely this: put the cuttings in plastic bags, cover them with sawdust (you can use dry sphagnum moss) and DO NOT seal them tightly, or better yet, make holes in the bag. It is better to put the packages in shoe boxes, where they will be in the dark.

It is more convenient to store dahlias in the apartment in such bags.

Now all that remains is to find the coldest place in the apartment. There is not much choice here; if you exclude the refrigerator, then there is space left by the window or balcony door. On the windowsill behind the curtain is a good place; some people store the bags in the toilet, near the cold water pipe. The presence of an insulated loggia greatly simplifies the matter.

It is impossible not to mention another way to store dahlias in an apartment - waxing the tubers.At first glance, this activity is complex and expensive, but this is not entirely true.

You don't need a bucket of paraffin; two or three candles are enough. This is done like this:

• Pour water into a container in which the tubers will fit and throw candles in there.
• Heat the water until the paraffin melts, then immediately turn off the heat. There is no question of any boiling water, otherwise the kidneys will immediately die.
• Quickly place the cut into the pan and remove immediately. A film of paraffin floating on top of the water envelops the tuber and it ends up in a thin, protective shell.

It must be honestly said that waxing tubers does not guarantee anything, but the chances of success increase significantly.

This is how dahlia tubers are waxed.

What factors influence the safety of tubers?

Having grown dahlias for many years, gardeners have drawn some conclusions

1. If dahlias grow in the shade, then their strawberry roots are small and are not stored well.
2. Old tubers do not winter well and require constant renewal.
3. Strawberry roots from overfed dahlias are also poorly preserved in winter.
4. Tubers grown in acidic soils are poorly stored.
5. Tubers of different varieties (especially new ones) are stored differently.

    Advice from experienced flower growers. O. Kormilitsina shares her experience in storing dahlias.

The safety of tuber roots largely depends on how they are dug up. In September, I mulch up the root zone of my pets or sprinkle them with a layer of compost. I do this so that frosts, which even here can happen at the beginning of autumn, do not harm the tuber roots.

I start digging up dahlias after sub-zero temperatures have destroyed the buds, flowers, and leaves. I cut the stems to 15-20 cm so that during digging there is no temptation to pull on them.This should not be done under any circumstances: you can damage the root collar, which will negatively affect the safety of dahlias in winter.

It is very important not to cut the tuber roots with a shovel when digging. The more powerful the bush, the more weighty and voluminous the nest, presumably, the further from the center of the bush I begin to dig around the plant. Then, sticking the shovel deep, I move it to the center of the root ball and dig it out. I shake off the soil with my hands, shorten the stems so that no more than 7-10 cm remains to the root collar.

I attach a tag with the name of the variety to each nest. Then I thoroughly rinse the tuber roots with water, soak them in a solution of the drug Maxim for half an hour (2 ml per liter of water) and lay them out somewhere in a well-ventilated place to dry.

I lay the stumps down, not up, so that water can drain from the cut stems. The root collar does not rot after such a simple procedure. All this must be done for better preservation of dahlias in winter.

After 2-3 days of being in the fresh air, I keep the tuber roots in the country house for another week. Then I lay them out in one layer in boxes and cover them with high-moor peat so as to only slightly cover the root collar.

I buy peat at the store. This is more economical than restoring a collection of your favorite plants that died over the winter in the spring. In the spring I use peat to mulch perennials.

I lower the boxes into the basement and place them on wooden panels. In winter, I check the moisture content of the peat with which the tuber roots are sprinkled. If it dries out, I spray it with water from a spray bottle.

    The peat should be only slightly damp!

I tried storing the tubers in sawdust, but more often I have to moisten them.

The optimal storage temperature for dahlias is +3 + 5 degrees.Naturally, the basement does not always have this temperature, but, nevertheless, the nodules are preserved well. There is little waste.

All our readers will be interested to know how you preserve your dahlias in winter. Write about your experience (both successful and unsuccessful) in the comments.

Other useful articles about dahlias

1. Varieties of perennial and annual dahlias. On this page you can get acquainted with the most different types of dahlias. There are small ones (which can be planted in pots or on the balcony), and there are large and simply huge ones.
2. Growing perennial dahlias. Detailed recommendations on choosing a location, planting dates, preparing tubers, growing seedlings and much more.
3. Diseases and pests of dahlias. The most effective methods of pest control and treatment of diseases of your flowers.
4. How to grow annual dahlias. Annual dahlias can be grown from seeds. They will bloom all summer, will cost you much less, and you can change varieties every year.

You might be interested:

1. When to dig up garlic, ways to store garlic ⇒
2. When to dig up beets and store them ⇒
3. Methods for storing beets at home ⇒
4. When to dig up carrots and store them ⇒
5. When to dig up gladioli bulbs and how to do it correctly ⇒