We talk about taking cuttings. So that I can take cuttings early, I grow my tubers under fluorescent lights. This gives the tuber more light to grow and produce more cuttings. I leave the lights on from 4pm to midnight each day and as the evenings get lighter I move the afternoon time later and so on. The Dutch farmers grow there tubers in the dark at a temperature of about 60 degrees faringheight the only time they get any light is for watering the tubers and checking for disease and as they take the cuttings so the cuttings are yellow when they are taken, but as they are moved into the Polly tunnels as the days go by with in a week they start to green up. Some dahlia growers take part of the tuber with the cutting so they root easier. I use a Stanley Knife blade to take my cuttings I have a number of blades that I use, each time I take cuttings from a tuber I use only one blade after I have taken all the cuttings from the same tuber I clean the blade with a sterilizing solution ether methylated spirits or the tablets that you get from the chemist for sterilizing babies bottles any of these are ideal for this, I keep a small bottle ready made up next to the propagating bench. The cuttings I take are about four inches long I cut them just below a leaf joint, and then I remove the bottom two leaves. The compost mixture I put them in is about half compost and half sharp grit sand, I get about half a bucket of each and mix this together until I have made up enough to fill a 75lt compost bag that will keep me going a day or two. Then I either put the cuttings in individual cells depending on how many cuttings of the same variety I take or I put 8 or 10 of the same variety in to one 3 inch pot this way they all seem to grow the same height. I take cuttings right up to the end of May as I can use these cuttings to grow on as pot tubers for next year. After you have taken the cuttings and put them in the compost place them in the propagator about 20% centigrade give them a good watering and don't water again until the compost is almost dry, If they start to wilt you can give them a spray over the top to freshen them up If the days start to get sunny and very warm in the greenhouse but it is still to cold to open the windows or door, you can place some newspaper over the cuttings to shade them from the bright sunlight and give the newspaper a spray this will help to keep the cuttings fresh. If all the conditions are correct then the cuttings should start to root in about 14 days, the first cuttings you take from the tuber always seem to take the longest to root. Don’t forget to keep your eye open for those pests; they will soon make a mess of your cuttings.