The real fireworks on the site, but not the one that lasts 5-10 minutes and can burn the dacha, but the one that lasts several times longer and is completely safe are dahlias. But today we will not talk about how beautiful they are, but about when it is time to dig them up and send them for storage in order to be able to enjoy the flower fireworks next year.
Most often, as soon as the first frosts come, dahlias seem to freeze, stop blooming at once, but this is not a signal for digging, because a weak frost may not kill them, but only shock them.
The whole point of timely digging is that the dahlia tubers must have fully matured in the season, because if this does not happen, then they are unlikely to last until the planting season and simply rot. But if we keep them in the soil for a long time, they will simply die from frost. Even a frost of 5 or a little more degrees below zero with the soil not covered with snow may well be enough to destroy the dahlias, and then there will be nothing corny to dig out. In addition, if, in addition to everything else, you take risks and get frozen, and even delay the digging of dahlia tubers, then already in the process of storage they will begin to grow, i.e. just wake up ahead of time. Naturally, this will greatly weaken the tubers, the plants themselves, and make future flowering, if any, unsightly.
Usually, they start digging dahlia tubers as soon as the first frost has passed, which will lead to the darkening of the flowers and green mass already completely.
In the center of Russia, everything depends on the season, it may be the end of October, but usually it is still November.
10-12 days before digging, poke the plants to a height of 10-13 cm to hide the root collar from the cold, tear off all the lower leaves a week before digging, remove all young shoots that might have formed by that time. These activities will stimulate the early ripening of tubers in the soil. Be sure to stop all kinds of feeding, and a day before digging, cut the plants short to a height of 13-16 cm.
Try to make the dig itself on a warm and fine day, otherwise you will need additional drying. First, the soil is dug in, then a shovel bayonet is driven in and the tubers, gently holding onto the remnants of parts on the surface, are removed from the soil. On very dense soil, a pitchfork is often used, but then you need to retreat from the tubers by 10-15 cm so as not to injure them.
After digging, be sure to clean the tubers from the soil with your palm, dry them for 24 hours on dry paper and put them in storage.
