Dahlia cuttings

One of my favourite flowering plants is the Dahlia. It flowers in Autumn, with bright waxy blooms in all colours. And it's easy to grow.

This time of year I occupy myself in taking Dahlia cuttings, either to increase my population of plants, or to get better value from tubers that I have just bought. This year is no exception, so I thought I'd share the process with you.

Once you have cut off the growing shoot, what you are trying to do is to give the shoot the opportunity to grow its roots before it dries out. So you give it a humid atmosphere so that it doesn't dry out, put it into compost (with the aid of rooting hormone) and let it grow its roots in its own time.





Pot up the tuber with the dried stem just showing.... then wait














Here's a couple of nice shoots just waiting to be turned into cuttings













Detatch the two lower leaves before dipping the end into rooting hormone














Now in a little peat pot to let the roots grow...















...in a mini-greenhouse to keep the atmosphere humid.














After a few weeks, the new roots are coming out the sides of the peat pots,













And the new plant is ready for potting.... don't forget to label it!