2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
This year, the summer turned out to be a record-breaking short one and ended abruptly. In June, frosts were still returning, and they were not long in coming in September. In such realities, the usual rules for digging dahlia tubers have to be violated. If, under normal weather conditions, you can admire their beautiful bright flowers in October, then this fall you will have to hurry up in order to preserve the planting material
The influence of weather conditions on the timing of dahlia digging
When autumn reminds of the past warmth in the so-called Indian summer, you can take your time digging dahlias. Moreover, after cutting the stem, the tubers are still allowed to lie in the ground, without fear that the planting material will freeze.
However, there are exceptions to every rule. And when sudden frosts, according to the weather forecast, promise to stay for several nights in a row, you should not leave dahlias in the ground. Freezing temperatures can damage both the leaves and the root collar. Therefore, flowers from flower beds can be safely cut for bouquets, and the tubers can be dug out immediately, without leaving them to ripen in the soil.
Technology for extracting tubers from soil
Dig up dahlias very carefully. You should retreat from the stem further, because the tubers in the soil can cover a wide diameter of the area, and by careless movement they can be easily damaged or cut off from the root collar. Such planting material will be unsuitable for further reproduction. Try to plunge the tip of the shovel vertically into the ground. If you dig at an angle, the tool will hit the underground parts of the plant.
The dahlia is dug in from all sides. Having loosened the soil, you do not need to pull the stem, pulling the flower out of the earth with a lump. You can also cut off roots and tubers this way. The soil is raked and the root system is carefully removed from the pit with your hands. And then you should clean up its remnants of adhered earth. When the soil is wet and difficult to crumble, the tubers can be washed. Leaving planting material for the winter along with a clod of earth is dangerous. It can hide minor damage from the eyes of the grower, foci of decay, which it is desirable to immediately neutralize.
Now you need to inspect the planting material. Rotten tubers must be cut off. They can also be damaged by soil parasites or a peg driven into the ground to tie the flower stalks. All these wounds and sections are recommended to be processed in order to stop the lesion. To do this, you can use ordinary brilliant green. Long roots at the ends of the nodules are also cut with pruning shears. If left behind, they often become a vulnerable spot for rot to spread.
Storage of planting material
For those who are fond of drawing up complex multi-level flower beds, you need to lay out the tubers dug out of the ground in containers that are equipped with a sticker with the name of the variety or a description of the characteristics of the flower. Believe me, when the time comes for disembarkation, you will be very glad that you did not rely on memory, but diligently wrote everything down. If there are few dahlias and they are all different, then such notes can be attached to the root collar.
Baskets with tubers are left in the greenhouse or on the veranda for several days. They need to be given 2-3 days for minor scratches to dry out and heal, the peel thickens.
And so that the tubers do not wither, they are placed in sand or sawdust for the winter. You should not overly moisturize the substrate - dahlia will not benefit from dampness. Instead of ordinary water, you can use a solution of copper sulfate - 1 table to moisten sand or sawdust. spoon for 1.5 liters of water. To prepare such a useful substrate, the raw material is moderately moistened with a solution and thoroughly mixed. Then they line the bottom of the container with a layer of 5-7 cm. Tubers are laid out on this "feather bed". And completely covered with another layer of processed sawdust. This method protects the planting material from wilting and from the appearance of rot.
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