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| First of all, I grow Dahlias just for my own pleasure, not for show or sale.
I divide my tubers in the fall when I bring them in for storage, and I seem to be doing a decent job of it (thank you Dahlia forum members). I started with 8, which have multiplied to about 75 over the past three years ( though I did purchase a couple more tubers too). In the spring when I begin to revitalize them I sometimes have tubers that have multiple eyes. The tuber itself is single, but multiple eyes. Does that mean I didn't divide it correctly in the Fall? Is there a way of dividing it further even though it is just one tuber? I dont like the idea of slicing a tuber in half. The related question is - If you plant a tuber that sends up multiple stems (because it has several eyes) do you let them all grow? or do you prune back all but one? Last year I had several tubers that sent up 2, 3 and even 4 stems. They seemed to do fine, but I wondered if the plants would be stronger or more floriferous if I didn't allow it. Do people trim them back only to encourage the largest possible blooms? (not a concern for me) or are there other reasons? Thanks for your help. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Multiple stems: The smaller the dahlia flower, the less need to prune to one stem. Large flowered dahlias do not do well with multiple stems because the multiple stems cannot hold the heavy weight of the flowers. Also, the flowers would be smaller. Large flowered dahlias do not have a lot of blooms either. I would say the Miniatures and Poms and such could grow with several stems with no problems. BB sized(4-6 inch flowers) are a lot better with one stem but having two or three is no big deal. B sized (6-8 inch flowers) and larger should have one stem. |
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