When I first bought dahlia tubers, then again the next 2 times I bought them, I read the included instructions on how to plant them, including instructions from Swan Island, and they ALL said to plant the dormant tubers straight into the ground 6" deep.

But then last September, when I attended the Philadelphia Dahlia Society show, I spoke with a member there who said that MOST of their members DONT plant the tubers straight into the ground, instead they supposedly place them sideways into a shallow tray, only partially covered by soil, with the stem/eye area exposed, and the tray is placed in a sunny area, and they are allowed to grow stems, THEN, they are planted in the ground once the stems are 'x' height.

They had a name for this procedure but I forgot it(bad short term memory!)

What is the advantage to this procedure, and how long are they left in the tray? How deep should the tray be? How much soil is placed over the tubers in the tray? Should the tray be placed outside in full sun as they grow? Watering?

Do you use this method? I want to try it with some of my tubers this year.......