Dahlia Rooted Cutting vs Tuber

[MarkHackwell]

I am looking at buying some Dahlia's however looking around I have come across Rooted Cuttings? With a Rooted Cutting, would I end up with a tuber at the end of the year like I would if I planted a Tuber? or would the plant just die?

[Babru]

I think you will get a tuber, though someone who has done this will be along I'm sure.

There was a piece on Gardener's World a week past Friday on dahlias. Apparently you get better plants and more vibrant flowers if you grow a rooted cutting rather than the original tuber. Who knew!

[Thelma Sanders]

Yes, they'll grow a tuber, mine weren't huge after 1 year's growing, though - about the same size as you get when you buy a pack of 2 or 3 from the garden centre

[mcdood]

yes you'd end up with a tuber so long as they are started early enough (any time soon). Cuttings also come stronger than tubers and are cheaper on the site you're probably looking at. Tho if it is that site I'm thinking of I seem to remember the P&P is a bit eyewatering

[rary]

If it's named varieties you want you have to buy cuttings, (which will provide a tuber at the end of the season) or tubers if you just want dahlias I would suggest that you sow some seed, plus of course any good plants grown from seed can be named by the grower

[Thelma Sanders]

Rary you can buy named varieties as tubers, the only time I bought cuttings was when the Dahlia society ran out of stock of the varieties I wanted - but they had cuttings, so I accepted those instead.

[rary]

Sorry Thelma, I possibly didn't put it down right, it should have been if you want named verities you have to buy tubers, or cuttings which will still give tubers at the end of the season

[Mark_Riga]

I've bought lots of rooted cuttings. Only 1 didn't form tubers at the end of the first year and I left it in a plantpot, frost free, over winter and it had formed tubers by the end of the next year.