She had to live in the house for a bit this weekend because we got some snow here. Even though I am an overbearing flower mama, she is waking up to great Spring!

My pom pons sprouted as well. One of them is already about 3 inches high and greening quite nicely! I may, or may not have discovered that Swan site this weekend. My dahlia bucket list is 28 types long.

I got a semi cactus Veritable this weekend and am on the hunt for Firepot and Pam Howden. I

am so excited!

nice sign of spring. most of mine are in the cool greenhouse but these were the worst of the worst-moldy, withered, decayed. hmmm, sounds kind of like my mother's last husband. anyway, even the most unpromising are up doing good things. have done some cuttings-the large tuber has had 16 sprouts.

I love the red sprouts and shoots... So pretty!

I have six trays potted up, with thirty in a tray. About a hundred varieties, with another hundred to pot up after Easter. It's great to see them root out and sprout. Hoping to take cuttings of about twenty varieties, but I'm a bit late as I just started potting up last weekend.

cici can you post some pics of how you start yours. This is my first year starting dahlias early and would like to see how someone who has been doing it successfully for a while does it.

I don't recommend my way to a new grower... The best way to pre-start tubers is in four inch pots under lights, about 4 weeks before planting time.

As I grow 300-400 plants, and I have only one lighting stand with three shelves, I have figured out how to start the maximum plants in the smallest space. I use quart size ziplocks, with two to three tubers of the same variety in each labeled bag and the opening folded over. The danger here is over or under watering, which can kill the plants and tubers if not monitored carefully. The thing I love about my method is that I don't have to sterilize the pots, and I can watch the roots growing through the bag. Any dud tuber can be tossed if both a sprout and roots are not seen in a couple weeks. Again, this method is not ideal, but it works great for me.

I have to say that the pots look much nicer, too! ;-)

Here's a shot from last year, same method...

I had started them a month too soon because of my impatience to tend growing things... Learned that you need larger pots to get a benefit of pre-starting over six weeks. I was a good girl this year, and six weeks should be perfect.

Again, I would recommend four inch pots to the beginner that wants to pre-start tubers, but there are many ways of growing these awesome flowers.

very impressive.

Thank you for posting pictures! It helps me to know what to expect!

I do have 3 questions:

(1) My poor veritable. The tip of the stem broke off in the bag. That poor baby was a Big Lots find. It is a tuber from Holland and had a long sprout so for a couple of dollars, I thougt why not! However, that poor baby was at the bottom of a box. The little sprout had to wrap itself around the bottom of the tuber to get to any light at all. I am not comfortable to cut it back to the tuber because of the way it is wrapped around; I don't want to damage it. The stem is a lighter green than my others and just now looks like it may be starting the first set of leaves.

That long winded question is.....will it still grow at the main stem?

(2) I am not planning to transplant. I am going in containers. If I pinch off at about 12" inches or 4 sets of leaves, is that as tall as my plants will get? Do I need to trim those baby leaves before adding more soil for support? And,

(3) I am planting because I am in love with dahlias. I am not planning to show. Right now I am in the "oh, pretty" phase. Is it worth it to winter my tubers? Or am I better to treat them as annuals, save for my faves?

We live in a MH on a mountain (about 2300 ft) in NC. Our lot is pretty small. I do not have a spot to properly store the tubers.

Sorry for the newbie questions. Thank you for your pictures and your help! Terri

And, Dave, the mother's late husband comment....rofl :)

1. Sprout

If it were my tuber, I'd cut that long sprout back to the tuber, and let the tuber grow another sprout. If you let it grow on, it will have a flimsy stalk that will be twisted. Yes, it will grow back if you leave a bit of a stub on the stalk.

2. Stopping plants by pinching center

It only stops the upward growth of the main stalk. Branches will form at each leaf junction, and continue to grow up. This method will encourage more bud production sooner then if you just let the center stalk bloom at the top. Left alone, the plant will normally branch out later, but give you just a couple blooms at the top earlier.

Growing in pots

I have found that growing in the ground provides me with much better plants and blooms then in ANY sized pot. Watering pots consistently just didn't happen on my patio. Pots dry quicker then the ground, and rain tends to bounce off the leaves and not to go into the container. Can you do it by watering all the time? Of course. The smaller the container, the more you need to water.

3. Storage

Sounds like you answered your own question. If you are happy with the Big Lots specials, that's great! Or you might want to allocate $50 every year in buying ten or so really different dahlias from a dedicated dahlia vendor, trying new ones every year. Lots of casual growers do that, and there is nothing wrong with that. Folks that don't save their tubers keep small businesses alive across America, and that's a good thing.

None or very few of the dahlias offered in the big box stores turn my head, so as a collector that grows hundreds, it would be very expensive for me to buy new every year. I don't know of a single grower who relishes seeing what tubers failed through the storage months, but it's part of this hobby, and part of the challenge that makes this hobby interesting.

Thank you! I have been thinking about it all weekend.

My husband is planning to build a raised garden and transplanting his veggies, and put in more. We are planning to get comfortable here, too. The only way I want to move is when my mom returns from caring for my grandmother in NY, which could be a couple of years. Our yard is small but most of it is on the east side of the house. The best sun spots are in the back. Is there a point where it is too late to transplant? Also, are there any variety of dahlias that do well in a pot?

Again, thank you so much for all this help!