Dahlias are beautiful garden flowers. They require mandatory digging in the cold season, since their root tubers do not tolerate frost. Therefore, gardeners need to know how to store dahlias in the winter at home, so that they do not die and again in the next season please the hosts with their flowering.

How and when to dig dahlias for storage

It is not worth rushing to dig up root tubers. The longer they are in the soil, the more successful storage will be.

It is important not to miss the time to dig up the dahlia, otherwise frost can damage the tubers of the plant.
  • If the gardener has a large collection of dahlias, then the root tubers begin harvesting right before frosts or a period of prolonged rains.
  • If only single specimens grow in the garden, they are dug up after the onset of light frosts.

Light frost only damages inflorescences and leaves, while tubers in the ground still continue to ripen.

Before they are cleaned, plants are cleaned: all rotted and diseased specimens are excavated and thrown away, otherwise they will infect the rest.

Digging Procedure:

  1. Cut the stems of flowers, and carefully remove the tubers, trying not to injure the neck. To do this, it is better to carefully dig them out from four sides and only then push them out of the soil. Of course, when using this technique, long roots are damaged, but the root tubers themselves remain intact.
  2. Remove the earth, and turn the root tubs over and leave for 2 to 3 hours to dry.
  3. Autumn is the best time for breeding dahlias. To do this, they must be washed and carefully divided into parts.
  4. To protect the delenki from rotting and various diseases, it is recommended to treat them with fungicides before storage, soaking in the prepared solution for ¼ h.Tubers, which, when lowered into the liquid, do not sink, but rise to the surface, are thrown away, since in any case they will not withstand wintering. All work with chemicals for safety is carried out only with gloves.

After processing, all the delenki are dried, but not on concrete, since it strongly absorbs moisture, which is why root tubers begin to wrinkle prematurely.

Optimal storage conditions for tubers

Matured root tubers from strong and healthy plants do not require special conditions for wintering. But there are rare varieties that painfully endure this period, and they need to provide the most optimal conditions for storage.

To store dahlia, you need a certain temperature and humidity.
  • The temperature should vary from 2 to 7ºС. At lower temperatures, planting material can freeze, and at elevated temperatures, it can rot or sprout prematurely.
  • Optimum humidity indicators - 80 - 90%. If this indicator is lower, the root tubers are wrinkled and will not be able to germinate.

Storage features largely depend on the humidity level in a particular region. In areas with wet winters, planting material cannot be stored in hermetically sealed bags. Be sure to pierce 5 - 6 holes for gas exchange.

Winter dahlia storage in the apartment

Since it is difficult to find a cold place in urban apartments during the heating season, it is better to store dahlias in hermetically sealed PET bags mixed with very dry perlite.

The most suitable place in the apartment for storing dahlias is a balcony. However, tubers should be protected from frost.

If the rooms are humid and warm, only waxing is suitable. But such processing is not widespread, since it is quite laborious. In addition, paraffin-treated delenki wake up much later. But in some cases there is no other way. Such root tubers are stored in bags with sawdust or dry peat.

The balcony is a good place to store. Root tubers are washed, dried, wrapped in thick paper and a bag, leaving it ajar for airing. If it is cold outside, planting material is recommended to be taken into the room, and then taken out again to the cool balcony.

How to store dahlia tubers in the basement

The best place to store is a cool but damp cellar. If the room is dry, you need to take care of sufficient moisture on time. In a warm and damp basement, it is very difficult to keep planting material in its original volume, since such conditions provoke the appearance of various diseases.

The cellar is an ideal place to store dahlias in winter.
  • It is convenient to store dahlias in the basement in dense plastic bags filled with large vermiculite. The main condition is a low storage temperature (maximum 7ºС). The fact is that this material retains moisture and, with increasing temperature, can lead to rotting of tubers.
  • A good option is to use sand. Dahlias are well stored in it, but in spring they can give young sprouts prematurely.
  • Large sawdust from coniferous wood is also used for storage. Small sawdust is not suitable, as they will draw too much moisture from the root tubers.
  • Also, planting material is stored directly in the ground. To do this, take large boxes of wood, cover them with several layers of paper so that its edges not only cover the bottom, but also the sides. A thin layer of soil is poured to the bottom, the tubers are laid at a sufficient distance from each other and again covered with soil, filling all the voids. Do this until the entire box is full. From above it is also covered with paper.

To prevent drying of root tubers, they are covered with a clay shell.

After digging up, the delenki are kept in a solution of potassium permanganate for 12 hours, then dipped into a mash of clay, water and any fungicide. Treated root tubers are dried and cleaned in a cold, dry cellar.With the onset of heat, the clay shell is broken by tapping and dahlias are immediately planted.

Keep in the refrigerator

You can save root tubs in the refrigerator. The dried planting material is kept in bags with sawdust, in which it is recommended to make holes for ventilation. Packages are additionally wrapped in paper and stored in the lower compartment of the refrigerator. If the root tubers are few, they are simply wrapped in paper and stored in the lower compartment for vegetables.

With any storage method, planting material is checked approximately every 4 weeks.

Damaged tubers are immediately discarded so that they do not infect healthy delenes. In the spring, boxes or packages with dahlias are transferred to a warmer place so that root tubers wake up faster.

Knowing how to properly store dahlias, you can admire these beautiful flowers in your garden from year to year, preserving your favorite varieties and not worrying about decorating the site annually.

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