Easy Rooting for Success: Propagating Dahlia Cuttings
Propagate Dahlias from Cuttings, a great way to get more for free. Fill in a large bed with Dahlias for free.
I love Dahlias, and in this post, I show you how to propagate dahlias from cuttings to get new plants! It is quick and easy for home gardeners. I admit, I am no expert so if I can do it, so can you!
Propagating your favorite plants is an easy and budget-friendly way to get more. You can take cuttings to root from lavender, lilacs, roses and so much more.
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But for today we will focus on Dahlias. What makes them so fun is they root so easily and you can get many plants from a single tuber. There is nothing like success to make us enjoy a project more!
They perform so well in the late summer garden and the more you cut for bouquets the more they pump out new blooms.
So how do you get more of what you love?
Propagate Dahlias from cuttings!
A step-by-step video of me taking dahlia tuber cuttings is available at the end of this post. Be sure and watch it!
It is well known that you can divide dahlias in the Fall and store the tubers (bulbs) for next season but you can also propagate your Dahlias in Spring.
I always plant my Dahlias in pots in the greenhouse in late winter to get a head start as my growing season is so short.
Plant Dahlia tubers in containers
Start with plump, healthy tubers. In my example, I used a planting box I built and I shared how I built it in a previous post.
And lower down you will see I also used a plant tray. The soil need not be deep but you will need to have it in a bright and protected area where it is warm.
Where I live March is a good time to get Dahlias started like this so your cutting starts are a good size when it is time to plant your dahlias out in the garden.
Many growers don’t ship until April, so you can do this once you receive your shipment.
Dahlia tubers can be awkward as they remind me of an octopus but you can simply place them on top of the soil and sprinkle more soil on top.
You want the upper part of the tuber to be above the soil line. You will see why later.
Below is the planting tray. You may note that some of the tubers were already pushing out new shoots, this is the way they came out of the bag. Good thing I got them planted when I did, they were anxious to get growing.
I gave them a few weeks to grow sprouts and a couple of sets of leaves.
How to Take the Dahlia Cuttings
These two are perfect for cuttings. Anything about 3 inches or so is good.
I take a sharp knife and cut into the tuber, just below where the sprout is erupting from it. I take a small part of the tuber, just a touch along with the sprout.
Some claim you get better results if you have a tiny bit of the parent plants tuber along with the cutting but I have yet to test that theory. These are called basal cuttings.
Next, I lay the cutting onto my surface and cut away the lower leaves. My knife is pointing to where the leaf node is.
Next, dip the end into a rooting medium. I had put some in this little glass. Make sure that the stem is coated up past where the leaves were removed.
I have since switched to a powder rooting hormone, it has just been easier for me. This is one of the many I have used for tender cuttings.
Pot Up your Dahlia cuttings
Fill 4-inch pots with potting soil. Water it in or set it in a pan of water and let it absorb into the soil.
Use a pencil or dowel to poke a hole down into the potting soil along the edges of the pot. It is a good idea to create a hole wide enough and deep enough that the rooting hormone won’t get rubbed off while slipping it into the soil.
Planting the cuttings along the sides of the small pot supposedly helps the roots to break, or run more horizontally instead of straight down.
Put about 3 to 4 cuttings into a pot and firm them in. They should develop root growth in a couple of weeks. Keep them watered but not soggy.
Some use humidity domes to create a humid environment but I did not bother this time. Test it out and see what works best for you.
You can put them under grow lights but in my greenhouse, they get plenty of light. Direct sunlight is not advised.
See this post for ways I do that..Propagating Geraniums
Pot your new Dahlia plant into a larger container
Once they have rooted and are growing well, move your new dahlia plants into individual pots. Plant them at the same depth as they were growing in the little starter pot.
I do use a heat mat in my greenhouse when as it still gets quite cold at night in early spring, but if you do this in a sunny window of your home you should not need bottom heat.
If you scroll back up to the photo of the black planting tray you will note it is sitting on rope lights, that is my cheapo bottom heat.
These are not the LED ones, those do not put out heat but the regular ones do put out a gentle heat which works well for me.
The one sprout got chewed on by mice. Who knew they liked the tender new growth of dahlia plants?
Enjoy your new Dahlias
Even if you take a few cuttings from the mother tubers it will still grow more and bloom just fine this summer.
Just plant it as you normally would after the danger of frosts and once the soil in your garden is warm enough. Dahlias like warm soil, about 60 degrees or so.
Be sure to pinch your new dahlias back to get more flowers from them and create a sturdier plant!
So this summer I plan on plenty of Dahlias blooming all around my garden. These new dahlia plants will develop tubers by the end of the growing season.
And that, my friends, is one way how you propagate Dahlias from Cuttings.
Fun note: Some Dahlia growers claim that the flowers that bloom on plants that are grown from cuttings are superior to those grown from tubers.
I need to test that theory well before I say it is accurate.
Happy Gardening!
I must confess that plant propagation is a passion of mine. I have shared many other posts for you like how to root Clematis by layering and How to root Boxwoods from cuttings.
All the best garden tips
Propagate Clematis by Layering
If you’ve been dreaming of a lush and inviting garden full of colorful clematis vines, but don’t want to break the bank buying them, then it’s time to learn how to propagate your own! Layering is an easy and fun way to do just that.
I am so glad you found it helpful.
Grown Daliahs for the first time year,they flourished beautifully..thankyou for sharing this.ive learned alot of valuable tips,ive been debating whether to take out the ground.but thanks to your post i feel confident in doing so now 🙌 🙂
I was just reading about that and some take as many as 10 cuttings from a tuber. But a rule of thumb is to leave no more than 4 shoots on a tuber for the best performance of bloom for that year. So you can take as many as you like leaving at least 2 on the tuber. Some will put out tons of shoots and others will only put out a few. So it depends on the dahlia tuber.
Thanks for this video! How many cutting can you take off a tuber/tuber clump before it is a time to just plant that main tuber outside and stop cutting off it?
I take mine in Spring just after potting the tubers up to start them early.
What time of year are you taking cuttings from tubers? When do you start this process? Do you think they would do well doing this over winter?
That is such a great question but to be truthful I have had no experience with overwintering dahlia plants. The cuttings I make are taken in Spring so they make a tuber over summer that I dig and store. My opinion would be to over winter them in the post in a protected area like inside a garage or basement area. Let it dry out some but not become bone dry. It is worth a shot. Some folks live in warmer areas and can leave dahlias in the ground but I don’t know your zone. So sorry I couldn’t be more help.
I rooted a couple of cuttings from my favourite dahlia. I had to dig it up as the tuber was rotting, so I took cuttings. They rooted in a small pot and now it is winter. Can you help me figure out what to do with the potted cuttings now that winter is here. Do I water them? Keep them inside? Outside in a protected area or in the porch? I have seen lots of videos about how to take cuttings but no one says how to overwinter the plant. Thanks so much.
Good question, since I dig mine up each season then replant I am not sure. If I did this I would try Violas, they are winter hardy (here) and put on fresh growth and lots of blooms the first hint of warm weather in Spring time.
What is a good flower to plant AFTER my dahlias have finished blooming, and foliage is cut back to plant in the soil on top for winter or spring planting? Dahlias are currently in a troff type planter box. Thank you
Hi, Pamela,
Thank you for your post. I live fairly near you and have left Dahlias in the ground. They came up the next year. But, when I built my pond I had to move the plant. I don’t think they survived the move but I’m hoping. Perhaps, also, we didn’t get much hard freeze the time they came back up the next year. But, it’s worth a try to leave one for for one of yours next year. I love dahlias but I don’t have the time or desire to dig up my plants every year. I do use a lot of mulch around my yard. Seeing your beautiful Dahlia picture did encourage me to give Dahlias another try. 🙂
Also, with the drought we often have, I prefer and encourage the roots of my plants to go as deep as they will.
I Feel the same! Dahlias are kind of a pain in my opinion. When they come out with some more hearty ones, that we can just plant, and have come up year after year without all the fuss, then I’ll get some more.
I tried them again last year, they’re beautiful, but most of them wanna fall over, have to keep propping them up, and don’t last very long here in Idaho. They didn’t bloom long, then they froze.
I just left them in the ground, we’ll see what happens, they probably died of the cold.
Mine bloomed this past Summer and I just dug them up for storage. By the end of the summer my cuttings developed a tuber but they did bloom. They bloomed later than the ones I grew from tubers but they did bloom.
I took cuttings from some Dahlia stems and they produced roots. No tubers yet. Will the cuttings bloom the same year or do they need an additional year to form larger tubers?
You don’t actually!! You can take a tall cutting with a few sets of leaves (from a store bought growing tuber) and plant where the bottom two sets were growing under the soil and it will create tons of roots in about six weeks …that will eventually become new tubers ! I use a bit of rooting powder and heat underneath and they root very easily.
It is surprisingly easy which I was happy to find. They just seem to want to grow!
thank you. I was busy potting up tubers on Sunday to do this again. I have even more to get done today.
Dahlias are beautiful! I have yet to add them to my garden, but will definitely find room for them. You made propagating them sound easy too!
Such a beautiful flower and a great tutorial. Pinned.
What makes it so fun is they root very easily making you feel like a champ at it even when you are a novice. 🙂
Okay. I can’t believe I’ve never thought of doing this. Genius!! Another fun project to do in the spring/early summer. Love it!
Correcting myself. I could not have planted the dahlia stem successfully. Re-reading, I see I would have needed a portion of the tuber as well as the stem.
I had no idea one could propagate dahlias. Someone once gave me a dahlia flower – called it a dinner plate dahlia. I was amazed. It was huge and so beautiful. I had no idea I could plant the stem. I was at a big box store recently and picked up a two different bags of dahlia tubers (?). They are now about four inches tall in the back yard. Grasshoppers ate the leaves off one and it wasted no time growing new leaves. I am so excited for them to grow up and bloom. Thank you so much for the wonderful information.
I have no questions. That’s how good your article is for me. I can leave this article and go to the green house.
Thank you
I sure will, I will do a post this Fall when I dig up my dahlias and share it all. Also I saw that Lowes had some as well as Costco.
Thanks fir the great info. I’m off to Costco to get some. I have some I dug up last year if only I can remember.
I had no idea you could propagate dahlias! I must try this as I don’t have enough of these gorgeous flowers. My Mom use to grow the most beautiful dahlias as gifts for friends.
Thank you for a complete, understandable and visually explanation for propagating dahlias, Could you maybe also provide what your experience with wintering them over? Where, temp, material?
Again, thank you. I will be seeking a few bags the next time i’m shopping.
I have avoided the ‘dreaded bulb dig-up’, because of the additional work involved. Would much prefer taking a long walk and enjoy natures fall beauty, than dig in the garden. I am a lazy gardener! Imay have to give dahlias another chance. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.