Shipping Dahlias

Krista · 2023-04-25T01:23:44+00:00

Cuttings: is there an ideal stage when shipping cuttings is most successful? I have a cutting to share that I took 8 days ago. I just found roots poking out...

MIDahlias

Teddahlia It's still isolated. All new growth seems to have it too. It is more of a plant than a cutting. Everything above the soil has PW. Maybe there is a small tuber in the soil.

MissyWeitzel

I've seen people defend sellers in FB forums against clains of PM arriving on cuttings by saying that PM could happen at any time and if the cuttings looked clean upon arrival, it must have come from the buyer's grow room/greenhouse/plants. Ok, mayyyybe that is true and possible. However, from my own personal experience, I never ever overwintered plant material (other than tubers of course), and for years I never had a single instance of PM on my cuttings indoors. I'm not even all that great about turning fans on. Last spring I received some cuttings from a friend who had overwintered the mother plants and within days powdery mildew showed up. I really think there needs to be more emphasis on education across the board about isolating and treating all incoming plants as the best practice. I don't know how to acheive that, but this is a common issue in the houseplant groups I'm in too. People order new plants and put them right with their prized collection and pretty soon everything has mealybugs.

MIDahlias

You're absolutely right. I assumed since the plant looked good when it arrived everything was good. Not one other plant I have has PM. Isolating plants sounds like good practice to add to a regimen.

LoriDee

MIDahlias I received cuttings from them maybe 3 wks ago & was surprised how tiny some of them were ☹ They all came down with powdery mildew & none of my other cuttings did. I dipped them all in diluted milk & the new leaves look ok now. They need to harden off now but are just getting to a size where I can plant them out

Teddahlia

Powdery mildew is systemic disease and the powder that appears on the leaves are the spores that fly into the air and infect other plants. The actual infection is in the plant. Milk washes the spores off but the plant is still infected and more spores will appear. I do not know of organic solutions to the issue but systemic fungicide can cure the infection (some are resistant to these chemicals).
There are numerous versions of powdery mildew and here it was always a seasonal disease that appeared in early Fall when temps and moisture were just right. It progressed to to turning the plants totally white with spores. I used a systemic fungicide (Cleary 3336)to spray the plants and they all recovered. In the last 6 years or so, it has never come back to our garden.
The versions f powdery mildew that are infecting cuttings are a new problem. If you isolate your new plants it may help but the spores are very infectious.

LoriDee

Teddahlia interesting, I always thought it was just on the surface. I have a section in my field (that I don't dig) that has seemed to get PM every year so maybe it is in those plants. I should try a fungicide. I also unfortunately have a bit of bindweed in the field & it seems to hv PM on it's leaves & spreads it to the dahlias it starts creeping up onto.

SteveM

If you spray a fungicide be sure to rotate with a fungicide in a different class (with a different modes of action). To avoid creating a resistant population of the fungus do not spray any fungicide for more than twice in a row. (That is true of most fungicides, miticides, and pesticides).

Teddahlia

Shipping rooted dahlia cuttings was discussed informally by Eugene Kenyon of Rivers Dahlias at our last club meeting. As with all cuttings sellers, it is a difficult subject. He says they are charging $25.00 for second day delivery as other less expensive shipping is not reliable. We talked briefly about packing material and they have abandoned clam shell packaging. Instead, they are using what I call the Meggos method where the roots and the leaves are packed differently. I did not say " in separate packages and you need to re-attach them when you get your shipment"☺.
The theory is that roots need some moisture and leaves do not. Meggos used aluminum foil around the root portion and the leaves were not wrapped at all. Rosie of Rivers Dahlias is using fast food wrappers and wraps the roots and then wraps the entire plant with another wrapper so the the roots say wet and the leaves stay dry. Ooops, time for the meeting and that is the end of our conversion.
One more item was discussed and that was shipping unrooted cuttings. The suggestion went over like the proverbial
" lead balloon". I advocated and he resisted. No resolution.
Picture unrelated to subject.

Emilyp

I have used wax paper and carboard boxes as packing material for cuttings for several years now. It does a good job of keeping moisture at the right level. I started shipping this way to reduce our single use plastic usage, but it has really proven to be a great method for cuttings health. I am glad to see others are following suit. I got the idea for paper based packaging from Halls of Heddon.

Emilyp

@"MissyWeitzel"#p16660Yes!!! I do not think that sending powdery mildew is an acceptable buisiness practice. I worry that so many people are experiencing this from so many seller- people are swearing off cuttings. It is possible to grow and ship cuttings without mildew with the right preventative steps and effort.

MissyWeitzel

@Emilyp could probably teach a class on shipping cuttings. I've heard nothing but praises for Brambleside cuttings (and loads of complaints about many other sellers). I think it's incredibly difficult with all sorts of things that can go wrong and I will stick to tubers thankyouverymuch.

Emilyp

MissyWeitzel Thanks Missy! I spend much of my time thinking of ways to improve : ) I totally understand your stance with the current state of cuttings being shipped.

Teddahlia

We need more sellers of pot tubers. They can be very small as was proven by Halls of Heddon that shipped very small pot tubers grown in 3 inch pots(grown in a green house). Someone who has a greenhouse (need lights and heat in the winter) could take a cutting and turn it into pot tuber in about 60 days. Yes. they would be small but they would ship without special packaging or overnight delivery. The recipient could take multiple cutting or just plant it like a tuber. We also buy used cars and Ken Greenway sold used pot tubers(actually donated to the club). I would buy a used pot tuber. Of course, it needs to have an odometer that shows low mileage. 😳

LoriDee

Teddahlia I just received my first pot tuber from Teresa of one of Allens varieties. It was a little clump in vermiculite but I potted it up & it has a sprout ready to cut off already. I hope to experiment by planting some "pinchlines" this season in small pots & see how they do 🤷

SteveM

It's just a guess, but I suspect the percent of diseased cuttings buyers receive is about the same as the percent of tubers they receive that either rot or do not have eyes. I don't order many cuttings but I have never had problems with mildew or disease on any of them.
Selling/shipping cuttings is much more difficult than selling/shipping tubers. With cuttings a vendor needs to get the cuttings rooted in time for the ship date but not be too large(old) for the shipping material being used. You can pack tubers several days in advance of the ship date but cuttings have to be packed just before shipping. If tubers take a week to arrive it is not problem, a cutting that spends a week in the mail is never a good thing.
Brambleside cuttings were the best I've ever received, I hope it is worth all the headaches and they keep shipping cuttings for many years.

Emilyp

SteveM Thank you Steve! I hope so too 😊 The logistics and the potential for shipping issues that are out of your control weigh heavy for sure! It is not for everyone, and every year I develop a tick in my left eye by the end of shipping season... but to me, it feels wonderful to pick and send a beautiful green plant vs digging through a dusty, peat-filled tub in a cold garage searching for an eyed up tuber 😅

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