Content
More than two hundred years ago, dahlias were brought to the European continent from hot Mexico. With their unpretentiousness and amazing beauty of buds, they conquered a huge number of farmers, as evidenced by the fact that today the plants can be seen in almost every garden. A huge number of crop varieties include annuals and perennials, which are thermophilic. Lack of resistance to even the slightest frost does not allow leaving dahlias for the winter in the ground. That is why every year, with the arrival of autumn, you need to dig up the roots of plants and put them in storage before the onset of warm spring days. Roots must be stored in compliance with certain conditions and rules, more about which can be found below in the article.
Time to dig up the roots
For winter storage, dahlia roots are dug up in the fall. This general thesis confuses many gardeners. The thing is that the autumn period is quite long, and weather conditions may differ from year to year. For example, early digging of roots does not allow them to ripen, as a result of which the keeping quality of tubers deteriorates. Such roots often rot during storage and begin to germinate early.By digging up tubers late, during periods of severe frost, you can completely lose planting material for the next year. Frostbitten leaves and stems of dahlias begin to quickly rot and can infect tubers with rot. It is impossible to leave dahlia tubers in the soil after the green mass has withered, since at the slightest warming the growth of renewal buds may begin.
So, when should you dig up dahlias for the winter so as not to harm them? Of course, there is no single recommended date. Depending on the region, this could be late September or early November.
It is these symptoms that are the basis for digging dahlias. They indicate that the biochemical processes in the plant’s body have stopped and the roots no longer consume nutrients from the soil.
How to properly dig up dahlia roots
Dahlia roots are a variety of thick tubers and thin, long roots. Thin roots are intended to feed tubers and do not retain their viability in winter, so only tubers are stored.
When digging up dahlias, you need to remember that next year the stems will form from already existing growth buds. They are located at the bottom of the shoots. Therefore, before digging up the tubers, remove the bush itself, leaving stems 10-15 cm high.
It is quite difficult to guess what size the dahlia roots themselves will be, so it is recommended to dig around the root neck of the plant, stepping back 25-30 cm from it in each direction. After carefully removing the roots from the ground, shake them off and wash them with water.
Treatment of roots before storage
After initial cleaning, large dahlia roots can be divided. At division each part must have a full-fledged thick tuber and part of a shoot with a growth bud. Each small piece of roots will be able to please you with fresh herbs and beautiful flowers next year.
Damaged and diseased flower tubers cannot be stored for storage. Even a small area of rot can destroy a large amount of planting material in contact with it over the winter. That is why, when we put away dahlias for storage, it is necessary to carefully inspect the tubers and remove dark spots and rotten areas on their surface. After such cleaning, it is necessary to additionally disinfect the planting material.
To disinfect the roots of dahlias, it is necessary to use a fungicide, for example, Fitosporin-M, Maxim. The fungicide can be replaced with a manganese solution. To process, dahlia roots are dipped in liquid for 10-15 minutes, after which they are thoroughly dried. The drying temperature should be approximately +15-+180C, the duration can be from 2 to 10 hours: the thicker the roots, the longer they need to be dried.
Digging up a dahlia is demonstrated in the video:
A clear example and comments from an experienced gardener will certainly help you understand whether it is necessary to dig up plants for the winter and how to do it correctly.
Storage conditions
Dahlia tubers are stored in a cool room, without access to sunlight. In a private country house, this could be a cellar or basement, a cold corridor. Storage temperature should be within +4…+60C. At elevated air temperatures, dahlia tubers begin to germinate; low temperatures cause them to freeze. By adjusting the temperature in the room, you can influence the life cycles of the plant: if in early spring the dahlia renewal buds begin to germinate, then it is necessary to reduce the temperature to +30C. If it is necessary to artificially awaken seedlings for early cultivation, then the temperature must be raised to +8…+100WITH.
An important parameter when storing plant roots is humidity. The roots of dahlias in a room with high humidity quickly rot; low humidity levels greatly dry out the tubers, as a result of which they lose their quality. The optimal humidity level is 60-70%.
Storage methods
If the necessary microclimate parameters in the room are strictly observed, then the roots of dahlias can be stored in wooden or plastic boxes without special shelter. In this case, it is necessary to place containers with roots as far as possible from stored root crops, since they can become a source of infection or “suck” moisture from the tubers.
If the humidity or temperature does not meet the recommended parameters, then to preserve dahlias you can use containers with non-hygroscopic filler, for example:
- River sand is excellent for storing dahlia tubers. They fill the container with it and lay the roots inside in several layers. Sand does not dry out the tubers and does not allow them to rot.
- Peat is also used for storing dahlias, similar to sand.
- Wood chips can protect dahlia roots from fluctuations in temperature and humidity. When choosing this filler for storing planting material, you need to make sure that the sawdust is obtained as a result of working with coniferous species, and that its fraction is as coarse as possible. When placing tubers in sawdust for storage, you cannot use sealed plastic bags or buckets with a tight lid as containers.
- Clay can be a good protection for dahlias removed from the flower bed during storage. A shell made of this material will reduce the influence of humidity fluctuations in the room. Before use, the clay must be mixed in water until a homogeneous solution of thick consistency is obtained. An additional ingredient in the mixture can be a spoonful of copper sulfate. This substance will protect the roots from the harmful effects of microorganisms. Dahlia tubers are dipped into the prepared clay solution and wait until the shell dries. As a rule, this takes 2-3 days.
- The paraffin shell can also protect the tubers from humidity fluctuations. To apply it, you need several candles or grate a piece of paraffin and melt it in a steam bath. The tubers are dipped into the resulting viscous warm liquid.When cooled, paraffin quickly hardens, forming a sealed film on the surface of the planting material. A clear example of how to wax dahlia tubers is shown in the video:
- Vermiculite has excellent thermal insulation properties and a low level of hygroscopicity. It protects dahlia tubers from fluctuations in temperature and humidity and prevents premature root germination. Vermiculite is poured into a container, where dahlia tubers are subsequently laid out in layers. A layer of fine-grained material is also poured over the roots.
Storing dug out dahlias should be done in containers with good ventilation. These can be boxes or bags made of breathable material (cardboard, burlap) or open plastic containers. If the storage area is infested with mice or rats, the tubers must be protected from them as well. Wood ash is a good way to keep rodents away. It can be poured into sand, sawdust or other filler to store roots.
Storing dahlia roots in an apartment can be a difficult task. The lack of space and necessary conditions force gardeners to regularly come up with new storage methods. So, often containers with roots and filler can be seen on insulated balconies under cover in the form of an old blanket or fur coat. If there is the slightest chance of freezing, containers with filler are placed indoors, near the entrance or balcony door. A simpler option for storing roots in an apartment is to place them in the refrigerator. Of course, only the farmer himself decides whether it is necessary to store a large volume of planting material in this way, but the option is especially good if we are talking about valuable varieties of crops.
Results
Thus, the question of whether it is necessary to dig up the roots of dahlias can be given an unequivocal answer: of course, it is necessary. Otherwise, the tubers will die, unable to withstand low winter temperatures. At the same time, when to dig up dahlias and how to store them, each gardener decides independently based on the specific situation. All we can do is recommend adhering to optimal conditions and the given storage methods, recommendations on how to store tubers.
