How to store dahlias in a cellar? Dahlias: storage of tubers in winter

During the winter cold, it is very often necessary to visit the storehouse, where warm roots are waiting for the roots, bulbs and tubers of various colors, which please their beauty in the summer days. To such plants it is necessary to carry and dahlias.

Many believe that these flowers are the most capricious in the world. And it is true. Of course, in the process of growing them, there are no special problems. A more difficult task is to store dahlias in a cellar, in an apartment and a cellar. After all, some varieties of this plant require appropriate care.

Preparing the tubers for storage

So, how to store dahlias in a cellar or in an apartment? First of all, the plants must be carefully excavated. In this case, the tubers must remain intact. After digging, the roots of the flower are carefully shaken off from the lumps of earth and laid out to dry. Do it best in the greenhouse. In this case, the windows and doors should be left open. After 5 days, the tubers are cleared of rootlets. As for the stem, it should also be removed, leaving a stump 3 cm from the cervix. All the places where the slices were made, it is better to treat with lime. After this, the dahlia tubers should be kept for 7 days in a room where the temperature is from 20 to 25 ° C. This time is enough to make all the breaks and sections become more dense.

How to store dahlias earlier?

During the Soviet era, it was difficult to obtain these plants, not to mention the varieties of foreign breeding. That is why every mistress tried to hide the dahlias for the winter so that they would live until the spring. Most often, tubers were stored in small boxes. Initially, the containers were covered with thick paper. After that, a layer of earth was placed on the bottom in three centimeters. On the ground - a tuber of flowers. Then dahlias filled up completely with earth. At the same time, the soil had to close all the voids formed in the box. After that, they again laid a row of tubers and poured it. When the box was completely filled, it was covered with the edges of thick paper. This method allowed to save dahlias almost 100%. Apply this method today. However, for many varieties it does not fit.

Preparation of tubers for storage in the basement

So, how to store dahlias in the cellar? Before you put the tubers of flowers in the tank for their further safety, you must treat them with a strong solution of potassium permanganate. The roots of plants should be aged for 15 to 30 minutes. After that, the tubers need to be dried and put in the basement in boxes, on shelves or on wooden decking. If space allows, then it can be stored in undivided sockets. It is best to pour tubers of plants with coniferous sawdust or sand. In the boxes should be added no more than two rows of dahlias. You can wrap the tubers with paper and put them in boxes.

Storing tubers in the basement

The main task is to save dahlias from eating rodents, premature germination, freezing, drying and decay. It is for this reason that it is necessary to inspect the tubers about once a month. If there are signs of decay, then such dahlias should be removed. If the lesions are of minor size, then they can be carefully cut to healthy tissues. After removal, all slices should be treated with a strong solution of potassium permanganate, zelenka or other fungicide. As for sawdust or sand, they must be replaced with fresh ones. The room where the dahlias are stored should be ventilated. This is to ensure that the infection does not spread, and the air does not stagnate.

Since storing dahlias in a cellar is necessary throughout the winter, it's worth taking care that the tubers do not deteriorate. If the roots of the plant are wrinkled, then this is the first sign of drying out. Eliminate this problem by sprinkling the filler in which the tubers are stored, water from a watering can or a nebulizer. It should be remembered that because of excessive dampness, dahlias begin to rot. To prevent this, replace the sand or sawdust with fresh, and the basement to ventilate. If the plants began to germinate ahead of time, then it is worthwhile to expose them to light. To sprout dahlias strongly did not stretch, you can put them in pots. Rodents can also severely damage the tubers - this should not be forgotten.

Clay clay for storage

Keeping dahlias in the cellar has its advantages and disadvantages. For example, in a dry room, tubers can dry quickly and wrinkle. To prevent this, they can be stored in a clay shell. Prepared and well-dried dahlias should be lowered into a clay chatterbox. In the solution it is worth adding a little fungicide. As for the consistency, the talker should resemble thick sour cream. The tubers in the clay must be dried. This can take days 4. When a strong crust is formed, dahlias need to be folded into a box in several rows. With the arrival of warm days, the crust is removed by an easy tapping, and the plant is planted in the ground.

Can I store dahlias without boxes?

Prepared dahlia tubers can be stored on shelves in the basement. However, the room should have a temperature of at least 3 ° C and a relative humidity of 70%. To ensure that the air in the basement does not stagnate, it is worth regularly, about three times a week, to ventilate the room or turn on the fan for 20 minutes.

How to protect the tubers from rotting?

Most often, the loss of dahlias during winter storage is caused precisely by the rotting process. Usually the tubers begin to deteriorate at the top of the remaining hemp. In this case, rot very quickly reaches the juicy tissues to the root neck. The main problem is that at the initial stage of decay externally spoiled tubers are no different from healthy ones. As a result, the affected dahlias are found out late enough, when the plant is simply impossible to save. To rot does not destroy the tubers, you can resort to a simple, but effective method - cleaning hemp. Since keeping dahlias in winter is very difficult, you should carefully consider their preparation. First of all, in the excavated tuber it is necessary to remove the stem and peel off together with soft tissues from the hemp. You can do this with a sharp knife. To begin is better from a root neck. After the procedure, the dahlias should be dried again for several hours.

Where it is better to store dahlias?

What can be more beautiful than a dahlia? Storing tubers plays an important role in the further growth of the plant. That is why it is important to create optimal conditions so that the planting material does not deteriorate. What are the best storage areas for tubers?

The ideal place is a cellar or a cellar, where the air temperature fluctuates within 1-7 ° of the heat, and the humidity ranges from 80 to 100%. It is worth noting that in this room the tubers will not germinate before the time and do not dry.

Since keeping dahlias in winter is not easy, you should carefully consider choosing a storage location. Suitable basement, where the temperature is from 1 to 10 ° C, and humidity - from 50 to 80%. However, the planting stock should be prepared by clearing the soil, dried and treated with a fungicide. Tubers should be placed in boxes and covered with sawdust, peat or sand, so that all voids are filled.

You can store tubers in the apartment

Since not all can store dahlias in the cellar, there are many ways to save the planting material in the apartment. For this, it is necessary to place the tubers in packages of polyethylene, pouring peat, vermiculite or perlite. After that, the package should be tightly tied.