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| Before trimming. | Before inserting. | Different propagating material. | ||||
Taking a cutting is a simple operation, trim below a node, which for the new grower, is just below a pair of leaves, that forms a joint or knuckle on the shoot, and end up with a cutting some three inches long, reduce the larger leaves by half, if they are large; I use the fingers to do this. There are all types of cuttings, and providing they are from healthy stock all are welcome, but of course we all know the ideal cutting is short, and of medium thickness, but beggars can't be choosers. They are inserted in to a compost of equal parts good peat based compost and sharp sand, in multi-celled containers and watered well. Each cutting is rooted in a compartment about an inch across, this sustains it until it’s move to a three and a half inch square pot, in about three weeks time.
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| Dutch cuttings to the right, a subject for another article. | Ready for potting up. |
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| Seedlings not long after potting, note the difference in leaf colour . | Ready for the Frame. | ||||
In the weeks to come the plants are moved from the greenhouse to the cold frames, and by the beginning of May or earlier are in a sheltered spot in the open. All this is possible with the correct use of horticultural fleece and the fact that I live in the South. While my stock is hardening off I dress every square yard of the dahlia beds with as much Vitax Q4 as I can hold in a clenched fist. I then wait for the week with the 14th of May to pass, and start planting out, I’ll explain the reason for waiting for this date.