Dahlias are luxurious flowers, capable of decorating with their splendor any, even the most modest summer cottage. It is not surprising that many gardeners have entire collections of dahlias and most carefully dig up their tubers before winter, managing to preserve them even in city apartments.
Preparing dahlias for storage
Before the onset of cold weather, after the first frost, dahlia root tubers must be dug out so that they do not freeze in winter. It is necessary to dig in and remove them from the ground very carefully so as not to damage. In no case should you pull them out by holding onto the stem. The stem must then be cut off, leaving no more than 5 cm, so that during storage it does not start to rot and does not infect the tubers. Large tubers are stored better, so there is no need to separate them, this can be done in the spring, just before planting.
It is not recommended to plant an overgrown tuber in the spring, it must be divided, otherwise the plant may simply not have enough nutrients and the bush will degenerate.
The dug tubers must be immersed in lukewarm water, rinsed well and poured with a furacilin solution diluted at the rate of 40 g of disinfectant per 10 liters of water. Soak the tubers in the solution for at least 30 minutes, then remove, spread on a newspaper and dry.
Storage of dahlia tubers in a city apartment
Ideal storage conditions for tubers: temperature 3-6 ° C and stable humidity of about 75-80%. Of course, it is quite problematic to provide such conditions in the apartment itself. However, if you have a glazed balcony or loggia, you can store tubers there. Sometimes for this they use special boxes for storing potatoes and other vegetables on the balconies, equipped with a heating system. If the balcony is not glazed, the boxes can be kept next to the balcony door or placed in the toilet under the sink where the cold water pipes pass. A cool stairwell is also a great place to store tubers until spring.
If you have few tubers, the easiest way to save them is by wrapping them in newspaper and folding them in a plastic bag with small holes. The package must be placed in the refrigerator, in the vegetable storage compartment.
For storing tubers, boxes and boxes filled with slightly damp sand or peat are used. It is very good to use sawdust of coniferous trees for this. The boxes are packed in large plastic bags. Those intended for garbage collection are also quite suitable. For ventilation, you need to make several small holes in the bag. Some growers dip the tubers in paraffin before laying. Some are limited to immersing only the protruding part of the stem in a clay mash or paraffin. For disinfection, the tubers can also be sprinkled with ash and a little added to the sand or peat.
During the winter, tubers from the boxes must be removed and viewed at intervals of every 2-3 weeks. If mold or rot appears, the damaged area must be cut off and the tuber must be treated by sprinkling it with ash or a mixture of slaked lime and colloidal sulfur, taken in equal proportions.
