## Taking dahlia cuttings Dahlias are usually propagated from **young shoots growing from stored tubers in late winter or spring**, typically **February to April** in the UK. ### 1. Start the tubers into growth - Place healthy tubers in trays or pots of slightly damp multipurpose compost. - Keep the crown—the point where shoots emerge—just above compost level. - Put them somewhere bright and warm at around **15–18°C**. - Water sparingly until shoots appear, as dormant tubers rot easily. ### 2. Take the cuttings When shoots are **7–10cm long** and have several pairs of leaves: - Use a clean, sharp knife. - Cut each shoot close to the crown, ideally taking a tiny sliver of the tuber or crown with it. This is called a **basal cutting**. - Leave some shoots on the tuber so the parent plant can still grow. - Remove the lowest pair of leaves. If the remaining leaves are large, reduce them slightly to limit moisture loss. - Rooting powder is optional. ### 3. Pot them up - Fill a small pot with seed-and-cutting compost mixed with some perlite or horticultural grit. - Make a hole with a pencil or dibber and insert the cutting so the lowest leaf joint is close to the compost. - Firm gently and water. You can place several cuttings around the edge of one pot, although individual small pots make later transplanting easier. ### 4. Encourage rooting - Keep at about **18–21°C** in bright, indirect light. - Cover with a clear propagator lid or loose plastic bag to retain humidity, but ventilate regularly. - Keep the compost lightly moist, never waterlogged. Cuttings generally root within **two to four weeks**. Fresh growth and gentle resistance when lightly tugged are signs that roots have formed. ### 5. Grow them on Pot rooted cuttings individually into multipurpose compost. Pinch out the growing tip after about three or four pairs of leaves to encourage bushy plants. Harden them off gradually and plant outside **after the final frost**, usually during May or early June depending on your area. As it is October, it is generally too late to take useful outdoor dahlia cuttings. Let frost blacken the foliage, then lift and store the tubers somewhere cool, dry and frost-free, ready to start into growth next spring.