The garden in which dahlias bloom always looks beautiful and attractive. Beautiful flowers do not lose their attractiveness until the very end of autumn. However, not a very large number of gardeners plant dahlias, as they are unfamiliar with the technology of growing dahlias from tubers and storing them.
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Features of growing dahlias from tubers
The first reason for not wanting to grow dahlias is the storage of tubers. Gardeners always doubt that they can create all the necessary conditions for storing tubers until next spring. They believe that they can easily purchase tubers in stores, the cost of which is low.
In principle, this is exactly what they do in all European countries. Foreign gardeners do not store roots in the winter. With the onset of autumn, they dig up the tubers and throw them away. With the onset of spring, they acquire new dahlias, cultivation and care, which are carried out constantly.
They don't do that in our country. In late autumn, the dahlias are carefully dug up, placed in a well-closed box, then the tubers are sprinkled with sawdust. Flower tubers are stored in a deep cellar.
With the onset of spring, the tubers of these flowers are taken out of the cellar and carefully examined. Rotten parts can be removed by cutting with a sharp knife. Small wounds can sprinkle with wood ash.
The first question that always worries gardeners is how to grow dahlias from tubers, when do you need to start sprouting flowers? Early varieties can begin to “wake up” at the end of March. Late varieties are planted directly in open ground.
The earth should be well warmed upwhen no more frost is expected. This usually happens in the last days of May.
When buying dahlia tubers in the store, you must make sure that each of them has live "eyes" that sprout. Dahlia roots are sold by weight, regardless of the number of sprouts. Very often in colorful bags you can find dead tubers, all kinds of debris and dry stems.
In this regard, it is necessary see the root well... It is very important that the neck has green buds that will soon begin to grow.
How to grow dahlias correctly
Large tubers must be divided into several parts. If this is not done, the growing stems will begin to interfere with each other.
Undoubtedly, the bush will grow large, but the flowers will be small and inconspicuous.
Prepared tubers planted in pots... Soil for dahlias can be:
- Sand mixed with sawdust.
- Coconut substrate.
- A mixture of peat and sand.
For good growth, it is necessary to moisten the soil well with water. The tubers are planted so that the neck with the bud is not very deep.
The tubers germinate within a few weeks. The buds finally wake up, green shoots appear. After the sprouts reach 15 cm in length, it is allowed to start grafting.
The shoot, which has several internodes, is cut off and immersed in water. Usually a couple of drops of a growth activator are added to it. Gardeners often use epin for this.
A tuber with a cut cut will wake up another "eye", a new shoot will appear. By constantly cutting off cuttings, you can get more than 30 new dahlias from one tuber.
If a tuber with a cut cut has two eyes, it also can be divided into parts... Each must have one peephole.
After all operations, sprouted roots, well-rooted cuttings are planted in the ground. When planting, the neck of the dahlia should have a slight deepening so that it can breathe easily.
For convenience, each hole should have small pole, to which you can later tie a bush. Of course, the pole can be installed in summer, but there is a danger of injury to the dahlia rhizome. In winter, it will simply rot.
Soil preparation
If you are planning to start growing dahlias, then you need to start thinking about planting them with the onset of autumn. The soil must be dug well in advance. It needs to be fertilized with garden compost or manure.
With the onset of spring, the soil must be loosened with a pitchfork and add bone meal... It is forbidden to plant dahlias if plants that have been infected with fungal diseases grew in this soil. To protect the dahlia tubers, the soil needs to be fertilized with granular insecticides.
Landing pit... The size of the depression depends on the size of the tuber. In addition, the fertilizer space is also taken into account. The well should have approximately the following dimensions:
- depth - 25-30 cm;
- diameter - 30–35 cm.
The planting hole is watered with water and fertilizers are added. There must be a distance of at least 50 cm between the pits.
When to start planting dahlias
Dahlia tubers are afraid of even small frosts. Usually, frosts completely disappear with the onset of May. Therefore, dahlias are best planted at the end of the month. Of course, these terms are highly dependent on the climate of a particular area.
You can, of course, plant dahlias earlier, but for any, even the smallest cold snap, they need to be covered with some material.
What care for dahlias is needed
In order for the flowers to be stable in strong winds, it is necessary to form bushes. When the flower begins to grow, to obtain a bright and large inflorescence, you need cut off growing shoots.
Bushes that have reached a great height are required tied to a poleso that the strong wind does not break the stem. Proper flower care consists of several steps.
For good growth and rich flowering, flowers must have:
- Fertile soil.
- Sunlight.
- Plenty of water.
Growing dahlia requires constant watering... Water should moisten the soil to a depth of more than 25 cm. If you pour water, the flower can get sick and die. The reason is very simple, high humidity, the enemy of dahlia roots.
Fertilizing and feeding
When the plant begins to grow, you need to feed it once every two weeks. Dahlias are poured with water and slurry.
When the buds appear, the soil is fed using fertilizers that include superphosphate and potassium... For ten liters of water, 30 grams of fertilizer is enough.
If fertilizers have already been added to the soil before planting dahlias, you can skip top dressing. The development of the plant will tell you whether you need to do additional feeding.
Garter and flower support
Dahlias have a hollow and very fragile stem. It breaks easily with strong gusts of wind, even jets of rain can break it. Because of this, the flower be sure to tie up... Any material can become a support:
- Wooden pegs.
- Metal pipe.
- Arches.
- The walls of the veranda.
- Wooden fences.
The garter must be done before the flower stem begins to grow.
Pruning and shaping the bush... For the buds to be large and beautiful, only three shoots are enough. Each flower stalk should consist of 2 buds.All blooming buds must be cut with garden shears, otherwise the growth of new inflorescences will be delayed.
The cultivation of high varieties of dahlias, during the flowering period, require the removal of lateral and lower shoots. If the plant is undersized, to create splendor, the shoots can not be cut off.
How to store dahlias in winter
Usually tubers stored in a box, where they are sprinkled with sawdust or a sand substrate. It is best to store dahlias by sprinkling them with ash. She will protect the tubers from the occurrence of all kinds of diseases. The tubers should fit snugly against the sand. There should be no empty space in the box.
To prevent tubers from drying out in winter, they can be stored in plastic bags... In this case, a layer of sawdust or sand should separate the tuber and the film. This is necessary, since during storage, the tubers release a small amount of moisture. It settles on the film, the tubers begin to rot.
Storing tubers in a plastic bag requires constant monitoring of the state of the substrate. With its high humidity, the bags must be opened and ventilate the contents well... If the substrate is very dry, it needs to be slightly moistened.
If a rotting area is found on the tuber, it must be cut off. Sprinkle the cut area with powdered charcoal. This tuber is left in the air for 24 hours to dry. Then it is placed back in a plastic bag.
If you follow all the rules described above and adhere to the technology, then growing dahlias will be a common thing, and good flower care will allow you to decorate your garden with beautiful flowers that delight the eye before the frost begins.
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