Dahlia or dahlia is a plant from the Asteraceae family, found wild in South and Central America. The numerous varieties of dahlias growing in the gardens are the result of multiple crosses between different varieties of this plant. The most common way to breed dahlias is by cuttings.
Necessary
- - dahlia rhizome;
- - sawdust;
- - river sand;
- - coconut substrate;
- - perlite;
- - peat.
Instructions
Step 1
Preparations for grafting dahlias begin in mid or late February. The preparation process consists in dividing the rhizome into individual tubers and removing dry or rotten parts.
Step 2
To obtain cuttings, you will need to germinate the prepared tubers in the substrate. A mixture of equal parts of sawdust and washed river sand or coconut substrate is used as a substrate. Put the substrate in a pot, moisten it and plant the tubers no more than two-thirds of the way down.
Step 3
Place the pots of tubers in a room with a temperature of twenty to twenty-five degrees. Until the eyes on the tubers sprout, the dahlias will not need additional lighting. Moisten the substrate as it dries. After two to three weeks, sprouts will appear on the tubers.
Step 4
To prevent future cuttings from stretching, it is recommended to illuminate the sprouted tubers with a fluorescent lamp, and instead of watering, spray the pot of tubers with water.
Step 5
Ten centimeter sprouts can be cut into cuttings. To do this, use a sharp knife to separate part of the shoot so that the lower part of this shoot with one internode remains on the tuber. After a while, new shoots will grow from the buds in the internodes, and you can cut off a few more cuttings from the same tuber.
Step 6
If you do not need a large number of cuttings, you can break off the shoot with part of the tuber. Such cuttings root much better.
Step 7
Plant cut or broken cuttings in a moistened substrate at a distance of about five centimeters from each other, deepening them two to three centimeters. Dahlia cuttings root well in perlite or a mixture of one part of perlite with two parts of peat.
Step 8
Cover the container with cuttings with glass or foil and place under a fluorescent light. Cuttings take root at a temperature of about twenty degrees. It is recommended to spray the container with water in the morning.
Step 9
As soon as the spring frosts are over, the cuttings can be planted in open ground.
