One More Reason to Pinch.
Spring Shoot Cuttings: A Simple Way to Multiply Your Favourite Dahlias
Every spring, one of our favourite jobs on the farm is taking shoot cuttings. It feels a little like magic—turning one tuber into multiple healthy plants that will eventually fill the field with beautiful blooms.
If you've never tried taking cuttings before, don't be intimidated. With a little patience, you can multiply your favourite varieties and have even more flowers to enjoy throughout the season.
Photo: Fresh dahlia cuttings ready to root at Dead Horse Creek Estate.
Why Take Dahlia Cuttings?
If you've ever pinched your dahlias to encourage bushier plants and more blooms, you may have unknowingly tossed away the opportunity to grow even more dahlias! Rather than throwing these cuttings away, we give them a second life. With a little care, each cutting can develop roots and grow into a brand-new dahlia plant.
Taking cuttings allows you to:
🌸 Multiply your favourite varieties
🌱 Produce vigorous young plants
🌿 Maximize the number of plants from a single tuber
💐 Fill your garden (or flower field!) with even more blooms
When to Take Cuttings
We begin taking cuttings once our tubers have started producing healthy shoots approximately 6–8 inches (15–20 cm) tall with 3-4 leaf nodes.
How We Take Dahlia Cuttings
Our process is fairly simple.
Wake up the tubers indoors in early spring.
Wait for healthy shoots to develop.
Using clean, sharp snips, cut each shoot just above the 3-4th leaf node.
Now trim to just below the cutting leaf node and remove the lower leaves.
Dip the stem in rooting hormone (optional but helpful).
Place the cutting into a well-draining propagation mix.
Keep the growing medium evenly moist and provide bright, indirect light.
Within a few weeks, roots begin to develop and the cutting is ready to be potted up.
A Few Tips We've Learned
Always use clean tools to reduce disease.
Don't overwater—moist soil is better than soggy soil.
Warm temperatures encourage faster rooting.
Label every variety! (Trust us—you'll never remember them all later.)
Happy growing!
🌸 Kala & the Dead Horse Creek Estate family