I wish you success with all the remaining digging of the tubers.

Meanwhile I've been out working and sweating at 72 degrees.

That is sooooo not right. Why can't we both be 65, even 60. I finished the arc bed and only have the kidney bed left. It will be difficult as I planted a lot of tubers there and they are really close together. Or it could make it easier digging as I dig across the bed. I am running out of room in the garage for the frozen clumps. Hmmmm. Wonder how much Damien would howl if I started lining them up in the kitchen?? NOT..... I would never make it to 29 years in Dec much less 30 next year. (anniversaries obviously, not age.)

It's windy and hot so I'm in on another break. I've been trying to dig out two ditch daylilies that some crook foisted off on someone (sent dormant) so she had no way of knowing what she was sharing with me.

How about some milk crates - plastic or metal, for the extra tubers? Or resort to stacked boxes if required.

That's an idea. I do have some milk crates that I could lay on their sides and just put the tubers inside until they thawed out, then back in after washing to dry out. Great idea. Thanks.

I have an entire collection of them!

How does one store them?

Until we wake them up in spring (under lights) or they wake up by themselves and send up sprouts.

Hurray for experimenting! Yesterday I saw one of the Nenekazi cuttings is in bloom!

Great ! It is a pretty dahlia. I can't believe how easily you did it after all the futzing I did.

It appears all of the Nenekazi cuttings took. Now I'm waiting on blooms of Kasasagi. It's fun.

I read somewhere that in England, when you order Dahlias - what you receive usually is a rooted cutting, not a tuber. I believe that there is at least one Dahlia site here that also mostly sends rooted cuttings.

You can get a lot more plants if you take several cutting from each tuber. I mostly plant only one or two of a kind, so there isn't any motivation to do a lot of cuttings, but if you get good at it, then it would certainly be a way to have lots to trade or sell.

Corralitos sends rooted cuttings and they do very well for me.

I'm not trading any more. Those days are over.

I had asked one big dahlia expert to show us photos of his tuber cuttings but that was years ago and he never got "a round tuit".

The dahlia expert, Steve, died in January.

Well, one success for last year's rooted cuttings. At least I'm learning more about it.


Since I hadn't relied on any rooted cuttings to be used in the garden, I am happy to know it is possible for me to do it.

Cuttings are the usual way to grow in England. Tubers are dug and stored whole, then "woken up" in Jan, cuttings are taken as the sprouts emerge, and once the sprouts are established plants, the tubers are composted. When ordering dahlias - they ship cuttings, pretty much never tubers like we do.

If you are growing multiples of the same plant then it makes total sense, you get a lot more.

Glad you are having success with it.

They must find that there's an advantage to growing plants from cuttings. Do you know why it's done that way?

I did it out of curiosity and at least I know I can do it. Last year one of the cuttings did flower.

The way it was explained to me is that the serious Dahlia growers who show competitively will sometimes grow 20-30 plants of a specific type that they want to show.( searching for the most perfect blooms I guess)

He says it is much easier, and takes up less room, to store just the tuber clumps from the 2-3 best plants, and then take cuttings - 10-15 per tuber clump. Also by only growing from the best and healthiest plants they continually improve their stock.

I have never "shown" and am not really interested in doing that. I also only tend to grow 1-3 of each dahlia that I have, so there isn't much of a reason to take cuttings. I have a friend who does a farmers market flower stand, and she takes lots of early cuttings, and then sells them at the market - they sell much better than tubers to people who are not used to dahlias.

Thanks for explaining it. I never had the urge to show since our "local" dahlia society is 90 miles away and it would eat up the entire day.

I do like the idea of continually improving their stock.

That's interesting. I am going to be cutting way back next year. I will save clumps not cut them up in the fall, then only pot up those that are obviously healthy. No more 'marginal' tubers in pots consuming soil, watering time and neglect to the really good ones because I have so many that I simply cannot get through them all. Not when added to the annuals and vegies I grow. Just can't do it anymore.

Oh, Arlene, my subscription with Dave's is up. What a difference in how the site treats you.

Those marginal tubers are endlessly annoying. I only have two of them but I find myself wanting to yell at them to either sprout or go soft so I can thrown them out.

I'm here at ATP to stay, Mary. I won't stop writing to my two pastors but will have to pray they make the switch to ATP.

How is the other site treating you that seems to have you a bit surprised and shocked?