The gardener's spring awakening begins long before the last snow melts, especially when it comes to heat-loving crops, such as dahlias. These magnificent flowers do not overwinter outdoors in most climate zones, requiring removal from storage to prepare for the season. Owners of private houses often use basements or cellars, but in a city apartment, the only reliable place to store planting material becomes a household refrigerator or glazed balcony.
However, just take out the tubers and throw them into the ground - means to destroy the plant. There is a fine line between the timely start of the growing season and the risk of getting weak, elongated sprouts that will not survive transplantation. The optimal time for removing tubers from the refrigerator is the end of March or the beginning of April, approximately 2-3 weeks before the planned planting in open ground. It is during this period that daylight hours become sufficient for full photosynthesis, and the risk of return frosts begins to decrease.
If you rush and disturb the resting temperature too early, the plant will be exhausted even before planting. If you are late, you may miss the moment to divide the root tubers and obtain high-quality cuttings. In this article, we will look in detail at how to properly carry out the “alarm clock” procedure for your flowers, so that by June your garden will be decorated with powerful, abundantly flowering bushes.
Biological rhythms and the influence of temperature on tubers
Understanding the physiology of the plant is the key to success. Dahlias, like many corms, go through a phase forced dormancythat is maintained by low temperatures. In the refrigerator, where it usually stays around +3...+5°C, metabolic processes in the tuber are minimal, which allows it to retain energy until spring. However, the plant’s biological clock is tuned to seasonal changes, and by March, nutrient reserves begin to deplete, requiring a transition to the active phase.
A sudden change in conditions is stress. If you simply take the tubers out of the cold and immediately put them in a warm place (+20°C and above), rapid but chaotic development of the buds will begin. The sprouts will be thin, pale and brittle. The gardener's job is to ensure a smooth transition. First, the tubers must “catch their breath” at a temperature of about +10...+15°C, and only then can active growth be stimulated. This simulates the natural warming of the soil in the spring.
In addition, the refrigerator often maintains high humidity, which is good for storage, but bad for awakening. Without access to fresh air and with rising temperatures, a humid environment can provoke the development of rot even before planting. Therefore, the first stage should always be revision and drying planting material.
⚠️ Attention: Never use heating devices (batteries, heaters) to speed up the awakening of tubers. A sharp jump in temperature will lead to welding of the tissues of the root collar, and the plant will die.
Optimal times for waking up depending on the region
The question of “when” directly depends on “where” you live. The climatic zones of Russia and the CIS countries vary vastly, and there is no universal date. The main guideline is the date of the last return frost in your region. From this date, you need to count back the time required for germination.
For central Russia, including the Moscow region, the optimal time for removing tubers from the refrigerator is considered to be the period from March 15 to March 30. By this time, the daylight hours are already long enough, which is critical for the formation of strong shoots. If you start germination in February, the seedlings will inevitably stretch out, become weak and require additional illumination with phytolamps, which is not always advisable.
In the southern regions (Krasnodar Territory, Crimea), the earth warms up faster, and planting can be done as early as the end of April. Therefore, you can take dahlias out of storage here in early April. In the Urals and Siberia, where the risk of frost remains until mid-June, tubers are taken out in mid-to-late April in order to plant them in the ground in early June.
Here is an approximate table of dates for different regions:
| Region | Date of removal from refrigerator | Start of germination | Planting in the ground |
|---|---|---|---|
| South of Russia | April 1–10 | April 5–15 | April 25 – May 5 |
| Middle zone (Moscow region) | March 15–30 | April 1–15 | June 10–20 |
| Ural and Siberia | 10–25 April | April 20 – May 5 | June 5–15 |
| North-West (Leningrad region) | April 1–15 | April 10–25 | June 15–25 |
It is also important to take into account the microclimate of your site. If the garden is located in a lowland where the cold air stagnates, the planting dates are shifted 1-2 weeks later, which means you need to get the tubers a little later.
Why is daylight so important?
To form high-quality sprouts, dahlias require at least 10-12 hours of lighting. In February and early March, there is a catastrophic lack of natural light, which leads to the formation of long, pale and brittle shoots that do not take root well.
Preparation for extraction: checking the planting material
Before opening the refrigerator door and removing boxes of tubers, you need to prepare your work area and tools. You will need: a sharp, disinfected knife, charcoal (or brilliant green), a solution of potassium permanganate and containers for drying. The extraction process is the first stage of inspection.
Remove the tubers carefully, trying not to break off the already awakened (if any) buds. Carefully inspect each section. A healthy tuber should be elastic, with a living root collar. If you find soft, blackened areas, these are signs of rot. They must be immediately cut to healthy tissue.
Sections must be processed. To do this, you can use crushed activated carbon, wood ash or a regular pharmaceutical solution of brilliant green (green stuff). This will prevent infection from entering open wounds. After processing, the tubers are left in the air at room temperature for several hours to dry the cuts.
- 🔍 Visual inspection: Look for mold, wrinkles (a sign of dehydration) or soft rot.
- 🔪 Sanitary pruning: Remove all dried thin roots and remnants of the old stem if they have turned black.
- 🧼 Disinfection: Soak the tubers for 30 minutes in a slightly pink solution of potassium permanganate or fungicide (for example,
Maxim).
⚠️ Attention: If products with a strong smell were stored in the refrigerator next to the dahlias, the tubers could absorb foreign aromas before germination, it is useful to rinse them in running water, but this must be done very carefully so as not to damage them. buds.
The awakening process: from cold to warm
After the tubers have been examined and processed, the stage of immediate awakening begins. You cannot immediately plant them in pots with soil. First, they must go through the “green room” stage - places with moderate heat and good lighting are ideal for window sills, glazed balconies or special ones. racks.
For germination, use boxes or containers filled with a slightly moistened substrate. This can be a mixture of peat and sand in a 1:1 ratio, coconut substrate or even sawdust (but not pine sawdust, as they acidify the soil). sprinkle the sides.
The temperature regime at this stage is critical. During the day, the temperature should be kept within +18...+22°C, at night a decrease to +15°C is acceptable. Under such conditions, after 7-10 days the buds will begin to swell on the root collar, and then green sprouts will appear. If the room is too hot (above +25°C), the sprouts will develop too quickly and may. stretch out.
☑️ Checklist for preparing for germination
It is important to ensure uniform lighting on all sides. If the light falls only from one side (for example, from a window), the boxes need to be rotated every 2-3 days so that the sprouts develop symmetrically and do not bend.
Dividing tubers: is it necessary and when?
One of the most common questions: should you divide tubers before or after germination? Experienced gardeners recommend dividing precisely at the awakening stage, when the buds are already clearly visible, but the sprouts have not yet reached large sizes. Dividing old, overgrown tubers (“nests”) is necessary to rejuvenate the plant and obtain more planting material.
The old tuber that bloomed last year has already given up all its strength and will not bloom this season, it only supports the life of the new one. Therefore, there is no point in leaving the “old people” behind. The division is carried out with a sharp knife, cutting the root collar so that on each division there remains a piece of the old tuber and at least one living bud.
- 🌱 Young tubers: If you took out the tubers obtained last season from cuttings, there is no need to divide them. They do not yet have the old mother tuber.
- ✂️ Division technique: The movement of the knife should be confident and fast so as not to wrinkle the tissue. The sections are immediately disinfected.
- 💧 After division: The divided parts can be placed in damp sand or peat for 1-2 days to tighten the sections before putting them on permanent germination.
Typical errors during storage and awakening
Even experienced gardeners sometimes make mistakes that can cost a collection of flowers. The most common of them is a violation of the temperature regime in the refrigerator. If the temperature dropped below 0°C, the tubers could freeze. Such specimens become soft, watery and begin to rot upon awakening. You can try to save them by cutting out the damaged tissue, but often they die.
The second mistake is excess moisture when waking up. Many, wanting to speed up the process, begin to water the tubers abundantly. This cannot be done! Moderate moisture is needed, the substrate should be only slightly damp. Excess water combined with heat is an ideal environment for fungal infections.
The third mistake is ignoring lighting. Dahlias are light-loving plants. If you place boxes of sprouting tubers in a dark corner of the hallway “for warmth,” you will end up with long, pale “spaghetti” instead of strong sprouts. Such plants will be sick for a long time after planting.
⚠️ Attention: Do not use sealed bags or containers without air access for germination. Tubers need to “breathe”. Lack of ventilation will lead to the formation of condensation and the rapid development of mold.
FAQ: Frequently asked questions
What to do if the tubers in the refrigerator have already produced long white sprouts?
White sprouts appear in the dark of the refrigerator. They need to be carefully removed (break off at the base), since they will still die when transplanted into light, taking away the strength of the plant. After this, the tubers need to be exposed to light so that the green buds begin to grow. If the sprouts have already turned green, you can leave them, but handle them carefully when planting.
Is it possible to take dahlias out of the refrigerator in February?
This is only possible if you have an equipped greenhouse or the possibility of professional supplementary lighting with phytolamps (12-14 hours a day). In an ordinary apartment, a February awakening will lead to the stretching of seedlings, which will be difficult to preserve until May.
How to understand that a tuber has died?
A living tuber is white or light green, juicy when cut. The dead tuber is grey, brown or black inside and dry or turned to mush. If the root collar is completely rotten and blackened, it will no longer be possible to save the plant, even if the tubers themselves look normal.
Do tubers need to be treated with growth stimulants?
The use of drugs like Epin or Zircon is acceptable, but not necessary for healthy tubers. Stimulants make sense if the planting material looks weakened, wrinkled, or you want to speed up the awakening of the buds. Soaking is carried out before setting for germination.