I overwintered my Dahlia tubers in their pots and they seemed to have fared quite well. Now I have 3 - 6 sprouts coming up in each pot. How many should I keep? How and when should I remove the extra plants?
Hi, I am on my 3rd year of dahlias and now have about 25 different types as I have gone a bit mad for it. I read somewhere that about 4 or 5 shoots is OK, I take off the rest and use for cuttings. I take the cuttings low down so when you remove the extra shoots you take a small slice of the tuber too as this helps it root. You can soon increase your stock massively and I have found the flowers from the cuttings are much better than he older plants.
Last year I made the mistake of planting multiple tubers per flowerpot and found that those plantings were thinner in the stalk, harder to keep tied up, and had smaller blossoms. My expectation is that a single plant in each pot, well staked and fed, will grow stronger and healthier.
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