Germination of dahlias is an important stage

Dahlias are plants of the family of Compositae, or astroids. They come from Mexico. The ancient Aztecs quenched their hunger with tubers, and in the stems they held water.

Cultivation of dahlias is associated with some difficulties, since tubers can not hibernate in the soil. Before freezing, they must be excavated, washed, treated with a disinfectant solution, dried and stored until spring. However, the flowering bush is so wonderful that all the difficulties and troubles are quickly forgotten.

Dahlias tubers are planted in the ground after the end of frosts. It is more difficult to name the time, since the climatic conditions of the regions vary considerably. In the southern parts of our country, tubers can be planted without additional measures, and in colder parts, germination of dahlias is necessary. The shoots of these plants can not stand frost. If planted ahead of time, then in the cold soil development does not occur, moreover, the process of decay may begin.

It is best to get dahlias from the vault in early April and carefully inspect the tubers. If found rotten, then this place must be removed with a sterile tool (a sharp knife can be held over the fire and cooled). Cutting out the rot, you need to grab some healthy tissue. Sections need to be disinfected, for example, with greenery, and dried. In case of strong damage to tubers rot, they can be etched in a solution of the drug "Maxim".

Cultivation of dahlias is more conveniently carried out in a box with a filler (peat, sawdust or soil). At the bottom of the box you need to pour the substrate, place the tubers horizontally and fill with filler. Root neck (the place of attachment of tubers to the stem) must be left open. The substrate must be maintained in a moistened state, not watered, but sprayed from a spray gun. Eyes will appear in 10-14 days.

It is important that there is enough sunlight in the room. Otherwise, shoots will be stretched, and seedlings - weak. Germination of dahlias can be carried out immediately in separate containers. In this case, the root system will be less injured when transplanting to the flower bed.

If you want (or there is a need) to quickly awaken the sleeping buds, then the prepared tubers can be put in a transparent bag, moistened, covered, leaving a small hole for airing, and placed in a light warm place. When the shoots reach 5 cm, the tubers need to be dropped into a box or cups.

If the apartment has no possibility (or desire) to sprout dahlias, then it is possible to drop the tubers into the open ground and without it. Two weeks before the landing, it is necessary to get the planting material from the vault, place it in a transparent bag (do not moisturize!), Place it in a bright place. After a week, sprinkle with water. By the time of planting on tubers should be small sprouts and roots. Slightly sprouted dahlias can be planted earlier than usual, but with mandatory hilling. Early landing has one advantage: in cold weather, the root system develops more actively than the aboveground part, and with the onset of heat, good roots can better feed the rapidly developing greenery.

Growing dahlias from tubers is a troublesome business, but how much joy will bring their magnificent and long flowering!