Dahlia Time – Wake up Sleepyheads

Hello from a dahlia grower and propagator!

If you live in the Chicagoland area, it may be time to start growing the new lineup for your 2011 dahlia garden. This time of the year is reserved for those of us who propagate dahlias, sometimes turning 1 tuber into 10 or 15 plants. If you don’t propagate, wait, your turn is coming soon.

I stored my 90 tubers over the winter and now hope to create my yearly 300 cuttings. Darn, I only have room for about 100 plants myself. So some stay in my yard, while others go to plant sales.

In mid to late February, I take the tubers out of their storage box and rinse off the powdered sulphur. The tuber is then planted in a 4-6 inch pot with about 25% of the tuber top sticking out of the soil. I like to leave the top exposed like this so that I have easy access to the little sprouts that will be coming from the tuber top. By the way, the soil is standard potting mix, not soil from the garden. I don’t want bugs or the extra weight.

My potted tubers are immediately watered from the top and simultaneously soaked from the bottom. I actually place the pot in about 3 inches of water and let it soak for about 10 minutes so that all of the soil is well saturated. It is then drained so that there is only wetted potting mix, but no standing water. This type of start will keep the tuber damp enough for at least a week in my dry basement. If the pots are smaller, watering may need to be done more frequently.

Now we sit and wait. I have seen sprouts came come as early as 7 days after potting. Remember, these potted tubers in waiting don’t have any light requirements. Light is not needed until it has sprouted.

See ya in 1 week

The Dahlia Lama

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