Taking dahlia cuttings

Increase your plants

New plants can be expensive and it's easy to grow your own from cuttings. All you need to do is trick the dahlia tuber into making new shoots in late winter. These can be snipped off and are so vigorous that they'll root in compost within seven to eight days.

What to do

Getting started

• Dahlias are tender plants, so in areas prone to hard frosts, it's advisable to dig up the plants and overwinter them in a dry, cool spot. Do this after the foliage has been blackened by frost in the autumn.
• Cut back the stems leaving a 15cm (6in) stump and remove as much soil as you can from the tubers.
• Allow to dry for three weeks in a shed, greenhouse or cool room, before burying them in a container filled with vermiculite (available from garden centres).
• In late winter, put a shallow layer of damp general purpose in the bottom of a tray and put the tubers on top.
• Cover with compost, leaving just the stem showing.
• Put in a light place and within weeks, shoots will spring up from the tuber.

How to make more dahlias

• Select strong, healthy shoots about 7.5cm (3in) long and remove them with a small sliver of the parent tuber. Use a clean, sharp knife.
• Lay the cutting on a hard surface and remove the lower leaves flush with the stem. Neatly trim the base of the cutting to remove untidy ends that could rot in the compost.
• Dip the bottom of each cutting into hormone rooting powder and insert three cuttings, 2.5cm (1in) deep, into a pot.

Aftercare

• Put cuttings in a propagator or put a clear plastic bag over the pot and secure with an elastic band.
• In about three weeks the cuttings will have formed roots. Split the root ball apart carefully and pot each cutting individually into a 7.5cm (3in) pot.
• Feed weekly and plant out after the last frosts. If cuttings are kept well fed and watered they should flower in the same year.

Five to try

• Dahlia 'Arabian Night'
• D.'Bishop of Llandaff'
• Dahlia 'David Howard'
• D. 'Claire de Lune'
• D. 'Moonfire'