Autumn Dahlia Care Rules

Caring for dahlias in autumn includes all the necessary measures to keep them healthy until spring. The peculiarity of preparing for winter is to by digging bulbs and storing, because this flower crop, although perennial, dies in the ground in winter from low temperatures.

Dahlia care rules for autumn dahlias

Necessary measures

First of all, in the fall, care is necessary for the site where the geor is grown they need to be prepared for the winter:

• remove leaf litter;
• clear of weeds and debris;
• spud ridges;
• fertilize;
• dig up the tubers.

Cleaning the site

Carefully cleaning the remaining leaves, weeds and debris allows to avoid the preservation in the soil of pathogens and pest larvae that winter in decaying residues and become active in spring when heat sets in.

They select a planting site 2 weeks before the planned date of dahlia digging, because low air temperature in autumn makes flowers the most susceptible to infection by infectious diseases, which should be excluded before laying for winter storage.

Hobbing and pruning rules

Hubbling in the fall is carried out to protect the root system of the still not dug flower bushes from sudden frosts. They do this from late August to early September. The height of the hill is formed up to 10-12 cm near the stems.

After flowering, dahlias are cut to 15 cm in order to redirect the flow of nutrients to the tubers.

Each bush is marked with a tag so that do not mix up when planting.

Watering

Bulbs need a lot of moisture before wintering. This will prevent root tubs from drying out during storage. Watering the bushes is necessary taking into account the autumn weather and the speed of drying of the soil, because stagnation of water in the soil leads to the beginning of decay of the root neck and root tubers.

In continuous and prolonged rains, the plantings are covered with a moisture-proof cover to reduce the penetration of moisture to the roots.

the rule is to stop watering 1-2 weeks before the planned date of digging flower bushes.

Fertilizers

The main task of autumn fertilizing is to increase the content of potassium and phosphorus, which are responsible for the total frost resistance of the flower.

Nitrogen is not introduced in autumn, because it stimulates growth green mass and shoot – that is superfluous in preparation for winter

Write fertilizing preparations needed before the end of August..Residents of the southern regions with warm climatic conditions have the opportunity to postpone these dates to the beginning of September.

The best food for a flower culture in the fall will be a mixture of potassium sulfate and superphosphate (1 tsp per 10 l of water). The rate of consumption of the working solution for irrigation is 2-3 liters per plant.

When and how to dig a dahlia

Flowers are dug at the end of September

In the southern climatic zones, where the ambient temperature in winter does not drop below -5 ° С -7 ° C, dahlias are left to winter in the open ground. In the regions least favorable for climate, dahlias are dug up in the fall.

But with such wintering, they are required to shelter: the ground is covered with mulch. The protective layer of their coniferous spruce and bark should be at least 5-10 cm.

Neither peat nor compost is used as mulch, which at positive temperatures will cause rotting of the root neck.

Dates

Time depends on regional characteristics:

• in the Urals – since the last days of September;
• in Siberia – from the end of August;
• in the middle lane, including the Moscow Region, – from October.

When choosing a date for digging up a flower culture, they are guided by the appearance of the plant: root tubers are ready for sunset a wound to the wound when the leaves turned yellow and withered.

Not worth it:

• Dig dahlias ahead of time, while continuing flowering and while the foliage remains green. The preserved green mass by photosynthesis helps the flower to accumulate as many useful elements in the roots as possible, which will increase the storage time of the bulbs.
• Leave the plants until the final frost, when the freezing temperature is observed not only briefly at night, but already in the daytime. Freezing leads to decay of the root collar and shortens the shelf life of planting material.

When choosing a middle ground for digging root tubers, they monitor the condition of the bush: as soon as it begins to dry from the first night cooling, it means – the tubers are ready. The grower has 2-3 days to prevent spoilage.

Preparation

Before digging the flower culture in order to bookmark it for winter storage, it is necessary to inspect subject to damage by pests and infections. Plants with signs of disease are dug up and immediately destroyed to prevent the spread of pathogens to healthy flowers.

Among the symptoms that should alert:

• white plaque – symbolizes the presence of fungi;
• brown spotting – indicates rotting;
• premature drying of the vegetative mass (stems and leaves) – indicates infection with a fungal or bacterial infection.

Weakened, non-viable dahlias with too long or fragile stems, as well as those that so did not bloom in the current season. Such instances, even when stored until spring, will most likely not give buds next year.

Technology

For planting next year, choose healthy plants

• Uncut and newly regrown shoots and leaves are pruned with pruners;
• Bush they dig under the perimeter, departing 0.3 m from the growth site for medium-sized plants and increasing the radius for larger plants, this is necessary so as not to damage the root system;
• The root tubers are pulled out, prying the forks without pulling out the remains of the tops;
• Cleans from a larger portion of the earth so that it is possible to inspect for the presence of rot, damage;
• cut fragments of small area with a knife;
• Weak thin roots are cut with secateurs, slices are sprinkled with crushed activated carbon or wood ash;
• Spread to dry in natural conditions.

Those tubers are selected for storage that after sanitary cleaning have saved up to 2/3 of the total volume.

How to save dahlias until spring

Before laying for the winter, the bulbs are disinfected. This is done by processing with potassium permanganate or antifungal agents.

Many gardeners prefer to separate the outlet to prevent contact and protect against the spread of rot throughout the planting material. In this case, only large root tubers can be divided.

You can save dahlia bulbs until spring in the apartment or in the basement in various ways:

• in containers with sand or sawdust;
• by wrapping it in a newspaper or film;
• dipping it in paraffin, which creates a protective layer.

For home storage, planting material can be decomposed in a refrigerator, but far from vegetables and fruits.

To preserve the dahlia root tubers, it is not recommended to put them in unventilated plastic bags, n conductive air and cause decay.

Optimum conditions:

• temperature 4 ° С-9 ° С;
• humidity – up to 60%.

To summarize

Dahlias should be looked after not only during the summer, when they bloom actively, but also in autumn, before the dormancy stage begins in plants in preparation for wintering.Only flower growers of the southern regions where relatively warm winters can leave root tubers in the open ground.