For some, it may be a revelation that elegantly shaped flowers callas are not actually flowers in the full botanical sense of the word. Flowers at callas small, they are collected in an inflorescence - an ear, which is surrounded by a special leaf covering the inflorescence, often having a beautiful color. However, flowers callas have a very pleasant aroma, similar to the aroma of vanilla. If the inflorescence callas do not cut off for a long time, then the covering sheet acquires green color. Growing plants in culture, this should not be allowed, cutting off the inflorescences in time, because. after the cover leaf turns green, the plant will not produce any more flowers until the next season.
In culture calla reproduces with tubers. The periods of flowering callas alternate with periods of rest. At that time tubers keep in a cool place. The rest period should last at least 2 months, and then tubers callas planted again in a pot or in open ground. For lovers of these graceful plants useful tips for digging and storing tubers calla :
1. Digging tubers callas and clearing them from the ground should not make efforts, since large tubers, as well as small sessile baby nodules are very easy to break. Small nodules should be allowed to ripen. During the winter, they will fence themselves off from the mother tuber peel-partition, and then they can be easily separated. tubers callas should not be cut with a knife. Any damage should be immediately covered with brilliant green.
2. Digging tubers callas autumn from the ground, do not immediately remove the leaves. Let the plant lie down a little in a dry, darkened room, after which the leaves are easily separated from tubers. For 1-2 weeks of lying at a temperature of +5 to +15 degrees, nutrients are redistributed from the aerial part of the plant to the tuber.
3. If you do not cut the roots along with the leaves, then calla will start growing again very soon. Therefore, when removing foliage, the roots should also be carefully trimmed. In no case do not cut off the roots with your hands, as this is extremely easy to damage the tuber, leaving deep dents on it.
4.To callas pleased you with their elegant flowers, purchase tubers already adapted to Russian conditions. In this case, the problems of overdrying, rotting, not germination tubers callas spring will bypass you. It should also be borne in mind that imported plants may not form inflorescences in the first years of cultivation.
5. Don't be afraid to buy tubers callas treated with a growth stimulator. Such processing leads to greater formation of inflorescences in callas . Flower growers who grow callas for sale must be processed tubers stimulants, as otherwise they risk losing up to 50% of their production.
6.callas can be propagated using small nodules. For this, the first year they are grown without a dormant period in nutrient soil. In the second year, the plants are planted in a permanent place.
Calla is a plant native to South Africa, a member of the aroid family. Even beginners can easily cope with its breeding. Colorful and bright calla lilies, no doubt Oh, will decorate any garden. Their tubers are planted in early May, and after 30 days you can notice the first buds. The question of how to store callas in winter at home requires special lighting so that in summer the beds will delight with beautiful flowers.
Southern guest in our area
An interesting fact: what we think of as a calla flower is actually just the covering leaf of the cob of the inflorescence.
Calla is characterized easy cultivation and long flowering until autumn. The most reliable place for white callas is to choose sunny and open, with fertile and loose soil. In nature, white callas grow along the banks of stagnant reservoirs and rivers, in connection with this, they will need abundant and regular watering in the garden. The tubers of these flowers are planted at a depth of 5 to 10 cm and immediately after that they are thoroughly watered. After planting, the flowers will not sprout until the root system is formed in sufficient quantity. Unfortunately, there are cases when this process is delayed for a long time.
These flowers cannot overwinter on their own in our climatic zone, so storing calla lilies after digging out in the fall is a necessary and very responsible event.
Leading stages of preparation for wintering
In order for the tubers to be well preserved during the cold weather, they should be dug up correctly and carefully. There are several elementary steps that allow you to grow amazing flowers in the upcoming season without any problems. To master information on how to store calla tubers, the following steps are required:
How tubers winter
It is very important to check each individual spine for rot and damage. Answering the question of how to store calla tubers in winter, competent gardeners focus on the integrity of the planting material. If black spots appear, they should certainly be scraped off with an ordinary teaspoon or a special tool. After that, the tuber is left for 3-3.5 hours, so that the damaged areas dry out a little.
After each "scratch" must be treated with crushed activated carbon or brilliant green for disinfection. They do the same when it is necessary to break the maternal root in order to separate the “children”. At the end of the procedure, the tubers put in napkins from natural materials and stored in this form, packaged in cardboard boxes. From time to time, it is necessary to examine the planting material for integrity and control whether any rot or infection has started on it. However, with proper processing, such "complications" should not arise.
The box is determined in a fairly cool and dry place. The container must have a tight lid. When deciding how to store callas at home, one should not forget the time when to take them out. This is usually done in the spring. This method of keeping tubers allows the plant to be viable and healthy for quite a long time, until the time comes for planting in the ground.
Plant storage methods
Competently organized storage and maintaining the correct temperature during maintenance are a guarantee of the future abundant flowering in summer time.
Depending on the capabilities of a particular gardener there are several ways storage:
- in the basement;
- in a refrigerator;
- on the loggia;
- in the apartment.
The most common way to store this plant at home is to place them in the basement of the house. Callas are handled as follows:
In a refrigerator
If until spring it is required to save not very a large number of planting material and preferably at home, then you can resort to a refrigerator. This is the second most common storage method at home. And it has its own specifics:
- The storage procedure is the same: the tubers are wrapped in paper or newspaper and placed in the vegetable storage section.
- As a rule, the temperature is maintained from 5 to 7 degrees.
Accommodation for the winter on the loggia
Balcony - another way out out of the situation. This method is suitable for those who grow garden callas in pots at home. If you decide to store there, then:
- with the onset of autumn, watering begins to gradually reduce;
- after the final death of the leaves, the vessels with the plants are transferred to the loggia or glazed balcony where they remain until spring.
Location until spring in the apartment
If there is no possibility of using other storage methods, then you can risk saving calla bulbs in an apartment. For this:
- boxes with planting material you need to try to place in the coolest place, for example, next to the balcony door;
- we take into account that at air temperatures above +20 degrees, callas may well endure wintering, however, by spring, their tubers dry out and shrivel. In the future, this fact may cause weakened flowering in the summer.
Common rookie mistakes
It is extremely important to observe small gardening tricks so as not to spoil the flower and not harm your flower bed in the new season with weak and small plants. Not fully understanding how to store calla bulbs in winter, a large number of gardeners make a number of mistakes that lead to severe consequences.
To avoid trouble, you must comply with a number of conditions:
- You should not lean too hard on the shovel when removing tubers from the ground - they are very tender and break quickly.
- If there are unseparated children on the root, you just need to wait until they are fenced off on their own with a thin scale, and only then tear them off from the main bulb.
- All roots from a tuber needs to be cut. Otherwise, the plant will begin to germinate during wintering.
- And finally, it is required to keep certain temperature conditions. The storage should always be from +3 to +7 degrees, and the humidity should be the lowest.
Whether it is necessary to dig up calla lilies for the winter is, of course, a very important question. After all, the future flowering, and, therefore, the beauty on the site depends on his right decision. The tubers of these plants, of course, must be dug up, otherwise it will be possible to say goodbye to flowering in spring days. And if you follow these rules, then you can justifiably hope for beautiful and healthy flowers in the new season.
Attention, only TODAY!
How to store calla lilies in winter at home after digging out in the fall should be studied in detail by those who are a fan of these flowers. In order for the plant to overwinter well, it is necessary to create optimal conditions. Experienced gardeners help beginners avoid common mistakes, share secrets on how to keep tubers until next spring.
At experienced gardeners there is no question whether it is necessary to dig up callas for the coming winter. The plant is stored exclusively indoors, for this they are created the necessary conditions. Tubers must be properly prepared for storage. The timing of these activities also differs. You should focus on the onset of the first frost.
- In the middle lane, they advance in mid-October.
- In the southern regions, stable cooling occurs in early November.
How to properly dig up callas
Digging up calla bulbs begins with the first drops in temperature to below zero. They will not harm plants. The process of ending the vegetative period will be started. The nutrients of the flower will not be directed to maintaining the leaves, the formation of new ones. Gardeners have a few tips for proper preparation plants before digging.
- Watering should be stopped approximately 2-3 weeks before the tubers are removed.
- The leaves need to be cut, leaving them at the level of 7-8 cm. After the first frost, this is easy to do with secateurs, scissors.
- It is better to dig up the tubers with a pitchfork. This reduces the risk of damage to the part that is underground.
- A hole around the root system is better to make bigger size. After the process is completed, carefully remove the soil from the tubers.
Note!
Handle the tubers after digging carefully. The root system is easily damaged even with a strong jet of water. It is not always possible to cure a damaged plant.
Drying callas
Planting material needs to be thoroughly dried. Previously, the tubers should be inspected, damaged tissues or parts should be removed. There must be a sound foundation. To remove individual sections, it is better to use a garden shovel, a teaspoon. Healthy areas after removal of damaged tissue must be treated with a solution of brilliant green, sprinkled with crushed activated charcoal. This will eliminate the risk of developing diseases that affect the root system. Dispose of removed areas. They are not used for future fertilizer, which will be applied to the garden. So, the disease is easy to spread around the site.
It is better to dry the bulbs in low cardboard boxes, plastic boxes that are used to store fruits. The bottom of the container must be lined with paper. Drying is carried out:
- in a dark and cool place;
- subject to free air circulation;
- in the absence of sunlight;
- temperature regime indoors should be at the level of 15-20 degrees.
Gardeners prefer to place crates of harvested calla lilies in a basement, well-ventilated garage. After a week, you can already remove all the remaining leaves without any problems. After another week, the roots will completely depart from the tubers. From mother plant young "children" should not be removed. They do not have a separate partition. When splitting, it is easy to injure the plant. This process is carried out in the winter, when the "kids" are already ripe.
If the mother plant is damaged at the time of separation, the injured area must be treated with brilliant green, sprinkled with charcoal. On average, the drying time of planting material takes from 2 to 3 weeks.
How to store
Selected material for planting in winter must be periodically inspected. This will not allow you to skip the resulting rot, in a timely manner, if necessary, remove damaged areas. Bulbs should be stored in cardboard boxes in a dry, cool place. They are dormant from October to April. Of course, these dates change depending on the region. Indeed, in the northern regions, plants need to be dug up already in August, and planted when constant heat is established. Gardeners believe that the best place for growing flowers is middle lane, Southern regions.
overwintering plants in a pot
Callas have successfully become plants that are found in many homes. They should also be periodically at rest. It is artificially necessary to stimulate the termination of the vegetative period of the plant. To do this, the pot should simply be placed in a dark, cool place. The watering of the flower is also reduced. Many doubt whether it is necessary to dig up callas from a pot for the winter and store them according to the established technology. Experts say that this procedure is optional. The tubers will overwinter well in a pot, container.
Choosing a storage location
Proper storage will ensure further good flowering of the plant. For storage, you can put containers with tubers in an apartment, basement, refrigerator or on a loggia. Each place has certain features that are important to consider.
Such a place is the most common for wintering planting material. This storage technique requires certain rules to be followed.
- It is important to observe the temperature regime. Boxes with bulbs should be in the basement at a temperature not lower than +5 and not higher than +10 degrees.
- Exceeding temperature conditions can cause premature germination of tubers.
- The storage period should last until the end of the month of March. After, the bulbs need to be transplanted into the ground, pots.
Note!
The basement is not the best place to store tubers, because it constantly increases humidity. The flower requires a room with dry air.
Accommodation for the winter on the loggia
A loggia is one of the common places where it is very convenient to store flower bulbs. This is a great way to home growing flowers in pots. This technique requires the following conditions to be met:
- by the onset of autumn, it is necessary to reduce watering, gradually preparing the plant for hibernation;
- when the leaves die off, the flower pot must be moved to the balcony (necessarily glazed) or loggia. There they are stored until the onset of spring.
Location until spring in the apartment
You can store prepared tubers in the apartment for those who do not have the opportunity to place the plant in the basement or on the balcony. Flat is a risky method of storage. It requires certain conditions:
- container with tubers should be in the coldest place of the apartment. For example, on the windowsills, away from the battery, near the balcony doors;
- it is important to provide temperature conditions (not higher than +20 degrees). Even at this temperature, the tubers can withstand the winter, however, closer to spring they will dry out and shrivel. This can adversely affect the flowering process in the summer.
In a refrigerator
If a small number of tubers need to overwinter, then a refrigerator is suitable for this at home. This is the second method of storing a flower after the basement. It requires two important conditions to be met:
- tubers must be wrapped in paper, placed in a separate compartment of the refrigerator, in which vegetables are usually stored;
- the temperature should be within + 5-7 degrees.
We wake up callas with the advent of spring
The middle lane completes the wintering of callas in early April, the southern regions with the onset of March. To do this, you need to get the roots, conduct a thorough inspection for damage. Then they need to be treated with potassium permanganate, a fungicide - this will help to avoid the development of a fungal infection. If the babies did not separate from the callas before wintering, you can do this now. Then the flower is transplanted into a pot for further growth and flowering.
Common rookie mistakes
In order for the flower to grow actively, certain recommendations must be followed. However, most beginner gardeners often make mistakes, which later lead to disastrous consequences and the plant cannot achieve the desired result.
- You need to dig up the tubers carefully - the root system is very delicate, the slightest sudden movement will cause damage.
- If there are children on the roots, it is better to wait for their independent separation, then remove them from the main bulb.
- If you do not remove the small roots from the tuber, they will germinate during the wintering period.
- In the place of storage, the temperature should be within 3-7 degrees above zero with a minimum level of humidity.
Finally
Gardeners tell beginners in detail how to care for callas, dig them up for the winter and store them. This information will help to save the plants, and with the advent of heat, plant again and enjoy the delicate flowering. Performance simple recommendations will preserve not only the beauty, but also the health of flowers, which is also important.
Callas are delicate, beautiful flowers that will be an excellent decoration for your landscape. suburban area. This plant is mostly grown in pots, but they can also be grown in the garden, in open ground. How do callas survive the winter? In order for frosts to pass without negative consequences, they need to be dug up, since temperatures below -2 degrees are contraindicated for them.
When to dig up callas
In the second half of September, when the garden callas have already faded and their beautiful bedspreads have drooped, and the leaves have begun to turn yellow, they must be dug out of the ground. And this must be done very carefully so as not to damage the tubers.
When digging up callas, it is advisable to leave a sufficiently large distance around their roots. Better play it safe and dig a hole larger diameter than to treat a plant injured with a shovel or pitchfork. After digging, you need to carefully remove the soil from its roots, trying not to damage them. You can wash away the remains of the earth running water under a faucet or garden hose. Make sure the jet is not too strong. Big head water can damage the “children” of callas, which have not yet separated from an adult plant.
How to dig up callas?
Before digging up callas, you need to prepare the plant. To do this, they stop watering it if the weather is dry, about 2-3 weeks before the expected harvest for the winter. This advice is relevant for the southern regions, where a dry climate in autumn is far from uncommon. Before digging, it is necessary to cut the leaves of callas above the soil level by about 7-8 cm. After the first frost, the leaves have already dried up, and this operation is easy to carry out with ordinary scissors.
Then the plant: ground part and tubers in the ground, put in a shallow cardboard box about 14 days for it to dry. During this time, all the nutrients from the leaves will pass into the tubers, so you can’t cut the leaves, much less cut them off. Leaves should be removed only when they are dry, and it will be easy, without effort, to separate them from the tuber so as not to damage it.
The roots should come off just as easily. Then gently clean them from the roots. The room where the excavated callas are kept should be dry and hot.
Further, the peeled calla tubers should be well inspected and checked for rotten spots on them. In the presence of dark spots rot must be removed. Do not use a sharp knife for this. Rot should not be cut off, but scraped off, and the most suitable tool for this is an ordinary teaspoon, or other sharp tool.
What to do with calla bulbs before storage?
So, the root tubers are rejected, all suspicious specimens must be thrown away (but not in compost heap), it is best to burn them. In the fall, do you need to separate the children from the tubers? Not desirable. It is better to give them the opportunity to gain strength. After a month and a half, they will get stronger and separate from the mother bulb with a special film. That's when you should separate them.
Before storing calla bulbs, they must be disinfected with phytosporin or potassium permanganate solution by immersing them in it for 30 minutes. Next, the material is laid out to dry on a clean cloth, placing the bulbs in a cool, dark place. Drying lasts at least 10-14 days. If the humidity level in the room is above the norm, then the drying period is extended or the bulbs are transferred to a drier place.
Storage of callas in the basement or cellar
For storage in boxes, the leaves should be cut to a height of 8 cm, and then dried under a canopy with fresh air.
After that wooden boxes fill with peat mixed in equal proportions with sand and sawdust, moisten the mixture and add dried rhizomes there. Store in a cellar or basement at a humidity of not more than 60% and a temperature of +5 to +8 degrees. Watering and inspection should be carried out at least once a month.
Storage of callas on the loggia
This method is suitable for those who grow garden callas in pots. In this case, when autumn comes, watering is gradually reduced, and after the complete death of the leaves, the containers with plants can be transferred to a glazed balcony or loggia, where they remain until spring.
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Storage of callas in the apartment
When there is no possibility of using other means of storage, you can try to save calla bulbs at home. To do this, a box with planting material must be placed in the coolest place, for example, near balcony door.
Storing callas during dormancy in a pot
Before digging up the plant, cut off only dry leaves and flower stalks at the very root. Plant the pruned plant with an earthy clod in a pot. Storage temperature should be no higher than 12 - 15 degrees. It can be a cool veranda or an attic, a loggia. Water the flower periodically, about once or twice a month.
Calla can also be in a lighted room near the balcony door. Under such storage conditions, the buds will ripen very well, which will subsequently give good strong flower stalks. When spring comes, it is necessary to gradually increase the amount of watering so that the plant wakes up. Two weeks before planting in the ground, the plant is fed.
callas
Pledge good growth And calla blossoms - selection of high-quality tubers. It should be firm to the touch, without obvious mechanical damage. The size of the tuber also plays a lot important role- the larger it is, the more flowers there will be and the sooner it will bloom. A large tuber is able to form an average of up to 20 flowers. Before planting, it can be washed in a weak solution of potassium permanganate, then clean water and dry.
The plant develops well on loose loams with the addition of peat, biohumus, and rotted manure. When planting in the soil, it is necessary to add a complex mineral fertilizer at the rate of 40-50 gr per 1 mkv. Calla is moderately moisture-loving, so it is important to ensure that the soil around the plant does not dry out too much. During the growing season, calla lilies need to be fed 3-4 times with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers with the addition of trace elements. It is important not to forget about drainage - you can use sand, expanded clay, coniferous chips and other materials. Appropriate place For planting callas - penumbra.
When to dig up callas. How to store callas.
Every gardener who has given preference to this flower must know when to dig up callas And how to store callas . It is in the process calla storage flower buds are laid for subsequent flowering. Dig up callas possible after a decrease in night temperatures (approximately in early September). Carefully dug calla lilies are laid out in a greenhouse or under a canopy and wait until the foliage and roots dry out on their own, giving all the juices to the tuber. In this state, they are left for about 10 days. After that, dry leaves and roots are separated, while it is important not to damage the tuber. It is better not to separate the young from the mother bulb in the fall (during storage, it will ripen and separate on its own). After drying, the material is laid out in paper bags and stored at a temperature of + 5-10 ° C, periodically inspecting.
There are some ways to stimulate flowering in calla lilies. For example, you can pinch small shoots at the base of the tuber. This stimulates not only flowering, but also contributes to better maturation of young nodules. Planting depth can also play an important role. So, the deeper the tuber is planted (of course, within reasonable limits), the more peduncles will form, and vice versa - the smaller it is planted, the more green mass will form.
