How to care for dahlias and store them in winter
When buying dahlia tubers in flower shops, you need to carefully look at the buds in the tubers, and the tuber itself should be firm and smooth, this will ensure flowering in the first year.
For lush and long flowering, it is necessary to provide proper care during active growth, during the formation of buds, during and after flowering. But special attention should be paid to storing dahlias until spring.
Mulching the soil around the dahlia
Mulching the site plays an important role in caring for dahlias, because it is protection against slugs and weeds. Also, mulch will not allow the soil to dry out on hot days.
Watering and fertilizing for dahlias
You need to water dahlias abundantly 1-2 times a week, but do not let moisture stagnate in the roots: dahlia tubers are prone to decay. In extreme heat, hilling the earth after watering will help retain moisture. Before the next watering, the soil from the stems must be raked, watered over the plant, and then spud again.
In the process of active growth, dahlias need to be fed every 14 days, alternating mineral fertilizers with organic ones: min fertilizers (15 g per 1 m3), tincture of cow dung (1:10) or bird droppings (1:20). With the advent of the first buds, superphosphate and potash fertilizers begin to be applied at the rate of 30 g per bucket of water. You need to feed dahlias in the evening, and best of all after rain.
Dahlia support
The dahlia has a hollow stem and strong winds or heavy rain can break it, so it is necessary to tie these fragile flowers to a support. If the stem is broken, you need to attach a strong branch to the stem, fix it, and lean it so that the stem does not wobble. Timely and careful care of dahlias can save even a broken shoot that will delight you with lush flowering.
Dahlia pruning
To achieve the largest dahlia flowers, you need to cut off additional buds. We leave 1-2 buds on each pedicel, otherwise the inflorescences will be smaller in size and not so decorative.
Faded buds must be removed in a timely manner so that they do not delay the formation and growth of new buds. In tall dahlias, remove the lower side shoots throughout the season(they take away a lot of nutrients), and these shoots can be used as
Dahlia pests
Dahlias are threatened by the following pests: slugs (eat stems), earwigs(gnaw buds), thrips, aphids, mites and caterpillars. Decoctions of wormwood or celandine help against slugs and earwigs (at the first sign of pests, treat the plant once a week in the evening). Spraying dahlias with systemic insecticides helps against thrips, ticks, aphids and caterpillars.
Digging up a dahlia
After the first frost, dahlia tubers need to be dug up, leaves and shoots cut off, leaving only five to ten centimeters of stem. It is better to dig up dahlia tubers in the morning, in dry weather, so that they have time to dry out in the air and become less “fragile”.
We dig in the dahlia tuber at a distance of 25 cm from the stem to cut off the long conductive roots, carefully pin it with a shovel or pitchfork and pull out the tuber. Thoroughly clean the tubers from clods of earth, and turn them over to dry.
When you dig up all the dahlia tubers, rinse them with water from the garden hose, from the soil that contains microorganisms that carry diseases.
How to store dahlias until spring
Proper storage of dahlias in winter is the key to success in their cultivation. In order for the tubers to be well preserved, they should not be too dry ( in spring they give weak sprouts). Insufficient drying causes the roots to rot during storage. If any damage is found on the tubers, they need to be pruned, and then sprinkled with coal. The root collars are powdered with ash or chalk so that they do not rot during storage.
It is best to store dahlia tubers in boxes sprinkled with dry peat, or coniferous sawdust, or sand. The air temperature is 3-5 ° C, and the air humidity should be no more than 60-70% , the room in which the dahlia tubers will be stored should be well ventilated.
If there is no basement and you have to store dahlia tubers in the apartment, they need to be put in plastic bags (make holes in them with a needle so that the tubers breathe), sprinkle with sawdust, sand or dry peat, tie tightly, put in cardboard boxes and put in a cool place, for example: on a glazed balcony. In this case, you will have to watch the temperature outside all the time, because a sharp cold snap or frost can destroy dahlia tubers.
