A check on the temperature of the rooting bench
shows it to be 70 degrees and ready for the dahlia cuttings.
Some growers insert their dahlia cuttings into one inch square plastic cells and place the tray of cells onto the bench. Being old fashioned I place the cuttings directly into the mix ( 1, 2 ). After 5 or 6 days the dahlia cuttings will have formed a callous and if examined closely bulges will be seen around the base of the stem and just above, this is where the roots will come from, see this photo. After 14 days or so depending on the variety the cutting will have produced sufficient roots to enable it to be transferred into a 3 inch square pot or Polypot.
This photo shows two dahlia cuttings which have rooted after 14 days and can be potted on into a three inch pot. The photo also shows two cuttings which are about to root after 6 days in the rooting bench.
A few more cuttings are taken with the majority of the Miniature flowering varieties (4 inches in diameter) taken on the 28th. By the end of February the bench looks like the following photographs 1, 2, and 3.
Here is a photo numbered 1 to 6. The ideal
length for a dahlia cutting is about 3 inches (75mm) although
having said that anything over two inches (50mm) is suitable.
1 is
the leaf removed from the base of cutting 2.
3 is
the cutting after it has been dipped in hormone rooting powder
ready to be inserted into the rooting bench or cell. Insert
it about half an inch (12 mm) into the rooting medium. If the
leafs are too large then cut them in half to reduce the area and
so conserve moisture by reducing transpiration.
If at some time you find you are needing extra plants then it is possible to take leaf cuttings. 4 shows a piece of stem suitable for making into two cuttings. A steady hand is required for this job, with the aid of a sharp knife cut the stem vertically so that you are left with a piece of stem with a leaf attached, 5 and 6. Insert into the rooting medium as you would a normal cutting.