Not a tuber to be found

bloomhjelm · 2024-10-18T20:36:25+00:00

I've seen an increase in photos from many growers of KA's dahlias which haven't produced any tubers in 120+ days. Obviously these plants have to produce so...

Teddahlia

When you pay "big money" for a cutting, you can take cutting from the cutting and save it as a pot tuber for "insurance". 5 years ago cuttings were very exotic and not sold in the mail with some exceptions. Now that we have them everywhere, you need to learn how to do them successfully.
HH Violetta

blown_dry

MissyWeitzel This isn't just a handful of loud internet trolls though.

Yes, I believe the people who say they are having this issue. My problem is the people who are suggesting it was an act of deliberate sabotage. There's no excuse for that except actual evidence when it's something common and where there is not even a known way to force a rooted cutting to make no tubers later on its lifespan when it otherwise would have.

NCDahlia

Maybe the KA varieties just are not that great at tuber making. I remember years back floret had all the "cool / social media coveted" looking flowers but many was terrible tuber makers so always a supply / demand issue.

I had a few cuttings from stone house and that was when they had the virus issue a few years ago I was given a full refund. So not sure its entirely their fault and I believe they revamped a lot of their business.

Any dahlia cutting or tuber that I am paying + $40 on I always try to make my own pot tuber of it, take a cutting from. Nothing is worse than buying a tuber for that much planting it, and losing it to early spring rains or voles.

GoldenTurtle

Last year, I found KA cuttings that were in root riot poorly produced tubers. However this year, cuttings of the same varieties but rooted in vermiculite or soil mix had much better tuber production. I noticed again this year that KA of different varieties rooted in root riot didn't produce much of a tuber. Have anybody noticed a difference in tuber production with root riot vs other medium?

Emilyp

I don't like to say a harsh word about fellow dahlia sellers, so I have to edit my comment. It feels yucky to be negative. I think that everything that has gone down over the last few months has a lot of growers on edge.

Teddahlia

Root Riot may be one to avoid unless it roots any thing in a day or two.

GoldenTurtle

Teddahlia
Bought cuttings are generally grown in root riot now. I'm looking at some of the varieties that were cuttings started in root riot, they don't have the same vigor, and the tuber production is not great either. These include non-KA varieties as well. Maybe next year, I'll have to experiment for comparison.

calico20hill

Teddahlia I have not been a fan of root riot cubes . I am all for the natural ways of doing things. To me that means if I want to grow a cutting I pinch off a piece of a stem and stick it in the dirt beside the mother plant in its pot. I pull off the bottom set of leaves and let it grow. When I plant out I plant those now rooted cuttings in a “community” of that variety. Mostly they grow just fine.

DarcyD

I have mixed feelings on this matter. I’ve been in the trenches with it…as I was one of the admin that actually was deleting the comments about SH using growth inhibitors in the KA friends group last year. BUT, it’s still happening this year to way too many people. It happened to me with my SH cuttings and I blamed myself. It will be interesting to see KA cuttings from SH vs Triple Wren this year. Something is going on and it’s probably something innocent like a pesticide or rooting hormone.

blown_dry

DarcyD No need for mixed feelings. It's totally a thing for cuttings or even sometimes tubers, not to make [more] tubers. I think it's already known that a non-zero number of KA's are divas in the tuber making/keeping department and there could easily be something about a particular production method that makes that worse. It's the jump to it being a conspiracy to do people harm that is really out there and... seems like an effort to do people harm.

Jenny

Krista I agree it’s premature to assume malice as to why this is happening. That said, from a scientific perspective I’d like to know why this happens. Could it be an unintentional consequence of the tissue culture process? It’s an interesting discussion to have and we can all learn together.

Krista

Jenny Oh yes, I’m happily here to learn!

calico20hill I plant those now rooted cuttings in a “community” of that variety.

Love this, Noni! Also, does this mean you leave your cutting to grow outdoors right Nextdoor to the mother plant or do you tease their roots apart and move it farther away?

calico20hill

Krista I leave it there until I want it elsewhere. once I can see that it has taken hold and while the weather is friendly to moving it I do so. I may
just let it form a “family” clump that will bloom together.

Krista

calico20hill What a great method, thanks for details. Maybe I’ll start doing this too! I love you’ve titled these as “communities” ❤️ makes them sound so friendly and warm.

calico20hill

Krista I was "processing" tubers for storage today. I had received some lovely cuttings rooted in root riot from an on-line friend. As I went to cut up the clumps there was that spongy root riot material in the middle....I was delighted to get the plants and they grew well for me but it reminded me again of how much I don't like root riot. I think in the future once they are rooting and have recovered from their journey I will break away the root riot before planting out. The good news is, however, that it was on my Clearview dahlias and they did reproduce and had nice tuber divisions...Clearview Pataha and Clearview Ginger.

wildabundancemi

Hi! I need some advice on this topic. I bought a few SH cuttings in the spring, did not make cuttings of them to save as pot tubers. A couple had OK tubers that I will probably not divide, but one in particular (Mocha Jake) really just has thinner than pencil roots coming out of the neck. In order to save this plant and get it through the winter, would it be a good idea to pot it in some soil and leave it in the basement with my other tubers, so that it doesn't dry out? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

blown_dry

wildabundancemi That's what I would do. And take some care that the soil doesn't become bone dry.

Teddahlia

wildabundancemi to pot it in some soil and leave it in the basement. Not just soil but good potting soil. Potting soil encourages hair roots to form in storage and they would help. I tried storing tuber sin potting soil but they were covered in hair roots at shipping time. Not sprouts, hair roots.

wildabundancemi

Thank you! I will do that.

wildabundancemi

Teddahlia Thanks Ted! I appreciate the confirmation 🙂

drewtheflorist

SteveM The UK exhibitors grow almost exclusively from cuttings --- they dig their clumps to start the next year's cuttings.

SteveM

drewtheflorist I do similar -I plant 95%+ from cuttings and mark the best plants to dig and use for next year's cuttings.

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