Dahlia Cuttings

dibdobdeb

I have several healthy shoots on a favourite dahlia which look as if they would make perfect softwood cuttings. All the advice I can find online seems to imply you should only take cuttings in spring, with a small piece of tuber attached. Just wonder if any of you knowledgeable people have tried taking cuttings at this time of year and did they work? Many thanks.

dappledshade

I have never tried no, but as they’re coming to the end of their season anyway, what have you got to lose from trying?
Maybe you’ll be the first person to ever succeed 😊

dibdobdeb

Good thinking and I'll be sure to let you know if it works 

Perki

Make sure the stem not hollow otherwise it will not root. They will have to be grown on in the house over winter. The cutting you are referring to from the tuber is called a basel cutting I believe. 

dibdobdeb

Thank you Perki for the welcome advice. I'm going to give it a go tomorow - as @dappledshade pointed out, there is nothing to lose.

oooft

I grow loads of dahlias from cuttings, late winter early spring. They root very easily but take up lots of time with watering and repotting and by may I am itching to get them out of the conservatory. There is no way I'd consider signing up to look after the things for 8 months before planting season. I point this out purely to make you aware of all the needless months of care you'll have to put in when perhaps you could allot the time and space to a plant that really does need it. In spring you can do conventional cuttings from your tuber and get loads of free plants. I wish you every success with your dahlias however you decide to propagate them

oooft

My garden is absolutely rammed with dahlias. These are all from cuttings. I have the parent tubers growing in giant tubs in my back garden. I will lift these and bring them indoors soon. The ones in the garden will get mulched and I'll have to wait and see if they survive a Scottish winter. I'll buy some new tubers and make loads of cuttings from all the saved tubers so that I can create this sort of thing again if the ones in the ground die

dibdobdeb

Oh my goodness, what a fantastic display. When I was a child, my Grandfather had a small market garden where he grew masses of dahlias for several local florists. I could never see the attraction then but now, as a Grandmother, I absolutely love them. So many different colours, shapes etc., plus they are what I call real 'doers' in the garden. I will heed your advice about the cuttings and wait until spring. I normally leave mine in the ground over winter without problems (touch wood)......but I am way down South in Devon which helps!

oooft

Thanks for your kind words, Deb. You are so lucky with your weather down there. And you're right. Dahlias are the best! The cuttings take time, effort and patience but for a little care you'll be very well rewarded. I only wish they were scented. Have you tried growing any of the single types? I find bees love to sleep in them. Early morning and late evening reveals the most colourful bee dormitory. Heaven!

Perki

Its a feast for the eyes @oooft   So which is your favourite then ? or preformed the best then this year.

ariadna30

Few years ago, I had a beautiful dahlia. Right before the first frost I took all stems with visible future flowers for the vase. After some time flowers were k.o. but roots began to develop on the stems. I didnt have the heart to throw them away so I planted them and they were all winter on my kitchen window. In spring they went to garden and they developed into beautiful plants. Little smaller than from tubers but beautiful. I will do it this year again because its fun for me to have dahlias plants in winter:)