Dahlia Season 2017

[johnjess]

Hi again guys, I'm back looking for more advice! I took my first cuttings three weeks ago , unfortunately they bit the dust probably due to beginners mistakes ,however over the last two weekends I have taken more cuttings and at the moment they are all still looking lush and green. I have been regularly misting and kept the propogator switched on and vents open.
I am a bit of a pessimist though so keep looking for problems. I was just wondering if the cuttings are going to fail what signs would they give, do the stems go or will the leaves droop or change colour?
Hopefully they will all survive but the pessimist in me is expecting problems😀!!!

[ian]

Hi JJ, well it sounds as though the second lot are doing fine with vents open if the cuttings are turgid and lush green as you say that is good keep on misting. Cutting tend to wilt if they aren't getting enough moisture the lose moisture through transpiration (moisture loss through the leaves. Cuttings can rot at soil level through being too wet and too warm, I call that 'black foot'. so you have checked the temperature your propagator is running at and from memory I think that was fine. The rooting medium as long as its not holding on to too much moisture then carry on and you should see them rooted in 12 - 14 days. depending on where your propagator is if it get a period of extended sunlight on it I would consider shading just with a news paper and prop the lid open. All the best JJ. Ian

[johnjess]

Hi again ian , thanks for taking the time to reply. I now have 18 cuttings taken over the last couple of weekends in the propagator on a North west facing window sill. All look nice and green as I said , the ones that probably look least happy are yesterdays cuttings but hopefully they will settle . I'm misting three times a day is that too much/not enough do you think?
When the first set of cuttings failed they were on a South - east facing window sill so perhaps they were getting too much sunlight, although the weather has been pretty grey of late.


The two tubers I started are throwing up loads of shoots at the moment so the propagator is going to run out of space soon!!

Thanks again ian

johnjess

[johnjess]

Hopefully these images show up OK, still trying to figure out Photobucket!!

Some of my cuttings. Photos taken last weekend.

[Cat]

Looking good so far johnjess

[johnjess]

Hi Cat, thanks for the reply. Yes I'm much happier with my cuttings now , all looking green and healthy at the moment.

Approaching the three week mark for some of them now so hopefully they'll be ready to pot on this weekend.

Can you tell me , when potting on is it just general purpose compost I should use?

Have to say it's difficult to make a photo of a small propogator on a bedroom window sill look remotely interesting compared to the guys with green houses, polytunnels and tray and trays of cuttings!!!😀

Johnjess

[Cat]

Good morning. I just use a multi purpose compost to pot on and have had no problems. I do try to use a reasonable quality one though so less rubbishy bits in it. At the moment I have trays on my living room windowsill and the only heat is a night storage heater below. We get cuttings (Che taking first Hillcrest Candy off today apparently) etc so I wouldn't worry your set up isn't like some others. Che did reasonably well last year getting some blooms on the local Cornwall Dahlia Society show bench gaining a red card and trophy or two so anything is possible if you look after your stock. Our advice is this ask the questions, decide a method, give it a go and then decide if it works but don't stress there will be other techniques to try that might be a better way for you. Our method this year is different to last and we have ideas for next year too so good luck and happy growing

[johndoe]

Mar 3, 2017 19:24:09 GMT johnjess said:

Hi Cat, thanks for the reply. Yes I'm much happier with my cuttings now , all looking green and healthy at the moment.

Approaching the three week mark for some of them now so hopefully they'll be ready to pot on this weekend.

Can you tell me , when potting on is it just general purpose compost I should use?

Have to say it's difficult to make a photo of a small propogator on a bedroom window sill look remotely interesting compared to the guys with green houses, polytunnels and tray and trays of cuttings!!!😀

Johnjess

Hi Johnjess, don't be in a hurry to pot up.  I usually wait until I see the lighter green foliage in the centre.  This indicates that the cutting has rooted well, and is growing on.  The bigger the root ball when potting up the better .

Your cuttings are looking fine, keep up the good work.

PS You don't need to have all the gear to enjoy growing dahlias.

[Cat]

Single cutting of Hillcrest Candy taken today by the Boss...and so we begin!

[johnjess]

Hi Cat,

I've followed your showing and growing both on here and the NDS Facebook page , fantastic to get a win at the Cornwall show. Good luck with the cuttings I hope you get the
numbers you require. A Hillcrest Candy rooted cutting is one that I have on my Halls of Heddon order , looking forward to them arriving and trying to grow them on.

Johndoe thanks for the advice about potting on, I may give them another week of growing before potting on. The earlier cuttings now have two pairs of leaves and a growing tip so hopefully this means they are now rooted.

Really enjoying the challenge of propagating and the propagator I have is all I need at the moment. The greenhouses and polytunnels the show growers have look great though, maybe someday.

If you don't mind another question, when I do get round to potting on the cuttings do they still need heat or can I remove to an un heated propagator?

Thank you again
johnjess

[johndoe]

Hi Johnjess.  I took this picture today, and hopefully you can see the lighter green colour coming through, which shows that the cutting has rooted and starting to grow on.  These were taken 21 days ago, and I'll probably pot them up later on in the week.

Took this picture to hopefully show the different stages of growth.  From left to right, 1 day cuttings, 4 days, 8 days, and 13 days.

[johndoe]

Mar 4, 2017 20:14:39 GMT Cat said:

Single cutting of Hillcrest Candy taken today by the Boss...and so we begin!

I bet he's well chuffed Cat.  Is he keeping in his bedroom so he can spray it every couple of hours .

Good luck for the coming season, too you both.

[johnjess]

Hi johndoe, thanks for the pics , it's much easier to understand when you can see what you are aiming for.

I have a very untidy cutting set up compared to your second pic 😀. Very impressive.

Thanks again

johnjess

[johndoe]

Thanks Johnjess. I like to keep the greenhouse tidy, hopefully helps to keep any unseen pests away .

[ian]

Hi JD do you have a mini vacuum cleaner to keep the capillary matting clean hehehehehehe