Dahlias are plants of the Compositae family, or Asteraceae. They come from Mexico. The ancient Aztecs satisfied their hunger with tubers, and they kept water in the stems.
Growing dahlias is associated with some difficulties, as the tubers cannot winter in the soil. Before frost, they must be dug up, washed, treated with a disinfectant solution, dried and stored until spring. However, the flowering bush is so wonderful that all difficulties and troubles are quickly forgotten.
Dahlia tubers are planted in the ground after the end of frost. It is difficult to give a more specific time, since the climatic conditions of the regions vary significantly. In the southern regions of our country, tubers can be planted without additional measures, and in colder regions it is necessary to germinate dahlias. The shoots of these plants do not tolerate frost at all. If planted ahead of time, then development does not occur in cold soil, moreover, the process of decay may begin.
It is best to take the dahlias out of storage in early April and carefully inspect the tubers. If rotting is found, then this place must be removed with a sterile instrument (a sharp knife can be held over the fire andcool). When cutting out rot, you need to capture some he althy tissue as well. Slices need to be disinfected, for example, with brilliant green, and dried. In case of severe damage to tubers by rot, they can be pickled in a solution of the drug "Maxim".
It is more convenient to germinate dahlias in a box with filler (peat, sawdust or soil). At the bottom of the box, you need to pour the substrate, place the tubers horizontally and sprinkle with filler. The root neck (the place where the tubers are attached to the stem) must be left open. The substrate must be kept moist, not watered, but sprayed from a spray bottle. The eyes will appear in 10-14 days.
It is important that there is enough sunlight in the room. Otherwise, the shoots will be elongated, and the seedlings will be weak. Germination of dahlias can be carried out immediately in separate containers. In this case, the root system will be less injured when transplanted to a flower bed.
If you want (or need) to awaken sleeping buds faster, then prepared tubers can be put in a transparent bag, moistened, covered, leaving a small hole for ventilation, and placed in a bright, warm place. When the sprouts reach 5 cm, the tubers should be planted in a box or cups.
If the apartment does not have the opportunity (or desire) to germinate dahlias, then you can plant tubers in open ground without it. Two weeks before disembarkation, it is necessary to get the planting material from the storage,place in a transparent bag (do not moisten!), place in a bright place. Sprinkle with water after a week. By the time of planting, the tubers should have small sprouts and roots. Slightly sprouted dahlias can be planted earlier than usual, but with mandatory hilling. Early planting has one advantage: in cool weather, the root system develops more actively than the above-ground part, and with the onset of warm weather, good roots will be able to better feed the thriving greens.
Growing dahlias from tubers is troublesome, but how much joy their lush and long flowering will bring!
