Dahlia growing for beginners.

 @markymate many thanks. Luck I will definitely need plenty of that

 Gonna give it a go.  Got  nothing to loose. My dad wants me to try said my mother would have been super proud. She was the talented gardener.  

Better start saving going to be an expensive spring got lots to buy least of all the tubors or cuttings. 

Cheers 

Question on taking cuttings and propogation

I am going to invest in a vitapod. If set up in my garage or summer house will I need to supply an extra light source.

Also I won't have a proper greenhouse until mid next year ( money a factor) I have seen most people do there cuttings and keep them on  heated benches or propogators.

I do know you can have them in an unheated propogator but take longer to root but still works.

Any tips ?

Also want to take about 20 to 30 cuttings of each variety so I have spares and can give some away. How many tubors for that many cuttings ?

Many thanks 

Raymond 

Personally, I wouldn't bother with a vitapod. All it is is a fancy heat mat with a lid.
Just buy a heat mat and stick your own trays on top. Don't forget you'll need heat to start off your tubers too, not just for cuttings, and they won't fit in a vitapod.
If you are growing in a garage then you will need artificial light. The T5 lights are the best. Come in all sizes.
And I wouldn't attempt all those cuttings. It's nice to give them away, but better to concentrate on your own needs.

link

Give them a ring. You won't get a mat cheaper, and they make to size. However, I would look elsewhere for a thermostat.
As to starting tubers off, we start ours middle of January, to provide a succession of cuttings. First cuttings are very rarely used.
As to insulation, you need a temperature of minimum 50'f for growth. So if your garage is cold, it's a heater you need.

3 blooms med cac or semi cac vals candy
3 blooms med Dec white charlie two
3 blooms small cac or semi cac ryecroft zoe
3 blooms small Dec winholme diane
3 blooms ball or large Pom blyton softer gleam
3 blooms min other than ball ryecroft jan
5 blooms Pom


1 bloom giant or large
1 vase 3 blooms med Dec Charlie two
1 vase 3 blooms med cac or semi cac Hillcrest Candy
1 vase 3 blooms small Dec Ryecroft Brenda T
1 vase 3 blooms min Dec Barbarry Pip/ Marston George
1 vase 3 blooms small or min cac or semi cac Ruskin Andrea
1 vase 3 blooms ball or large Pom Mary's Jomanda
1 vase 3 blooms pom
1 vase 3 blooms waterlily

Six of each variety. I could cover all the classes with that quantity and have plenty left over. If you don't have space for 6, reduce the miniatures to 4 of each variety.

The above list is of course biased as they are what I grow, apart from Hillcrest candy and Marston George.
However, all the smalls flower well outside, and are nice to grow.

See what others recommend.

Got the new classification directory need to sit study and plan.

Hi ya Raymond, cuttings anyway you like as long as they root the rooting medium is the key to wet and there is a chance the will rot or damp off to dry and again they will not root easily, you can root in silver sand, rock wool, perlite, vermiculite or compost there is no need for and feed when rooting cuttings therefore most mediums will be ok if they can hold some moisture. I Personally use my potting compost with some very fine grit of perlite mixed in, I root in 77 cell trays the cells measure approx. 35 mm x 35 mm I root on heated cables and have a mist system so can root in as little as 6 - 7 days on average 12 days the reason I use compost is that if I cannot get to the cuttings to pot up then they will be ok for a few more days. Now I take very small cuttings just beneath a node and choose sometimes to leave the bottom leaves on which in my opinion give a better root ball but I also remove leaves as well. If the leaves on the cuttings are big the do not be frightened to reduce their size by cutting the leaves or as I do just Tate them down, this will reduce the surface area therefore the cutting will stay turgid. Now if you tend to take big cuttings 4-5 inches when they are rooted then they will quickly become large plants the will need moving on quickly. My plants remain small for longer whilst building a bigger root system. The disadvantage of taking cuttings with a little tuber left attached
is that yes you tend to get a very good plant but no other cutting come form that eye as you have removed it, they are sometimes called Irish mans cuttings. If you are rooting on the open bench with no heating then they will root but will take a lot longer to root and my be a little hard when rooted with heated cables they will root quicker. A good Idea is once you have taken your cuttings and put them in a moist medium then cover with a plastic cloche and cover with damp news paper if is warm, this will keep the cuttings turgid and in good condition after 2-3 days you can remove the news paper, you will need to spray the cuttings 2-3 times a day.

Your best cuttings are best taken in April rooted within 10-12 days potted up into 7 or 9 cm pots (depends on space) this will take you in to May two to three weeks in that pot then potted up then planted out in the first week of June (May be last week in May) be careful of the frost. I prefer to pot out of 7cm pots if possible tender small plant will get away just as good as bigger plants. Hope this is useful.

If you want to use a rooting compound then do so, I very rarely use any but I do like the baby bio root it gel

Ian