Propagation 2011 - Background
2010
Last year I moved from propagating my dahlias in my living room ( see arm chair propagation ) to my 'conservatory' - I opened out the end of the garage and made some large windows at the end. I made two hot beds ( see hot beds ) and started the tubers off on 11th February, so far so good! My main intent was to grow more Oakwood Goldcrest - I had done OK with them the previous year, as well as Kenora Challenger, some Westons and Peach Delight ( as an alternative to Grenidore Pastelle ) which did not do well in my garden.
Disappointment
Despite having 15 plants of Oakwood Goldcrest I did not get very many flowers and was quite disappointed. So I decided I needed to start them off sooner, and get stronger plants before planting outside.
Environment
Thinking about the 'conservatory' area, I concluded that there was not sufficient light and the temperature varied considerably between afternoon sun and outside freezing temperatures at night . Both of these must be affecting propagation and plant growth.
New idea
Why not use the cellar? It is not used much, the temperature will be stable, it is humid, since it seeps water & I have a sump pump to keep the floor dry. It is great for storing the tubers in over winter, sounds like a great idea.
Issues
Like most great ideas there are a few issues to resolve!
Temperature - some measurements showed that it is a stable 11deg C. So if I moved the hot beds down, then I would be OK.
Light - this will be the main problem to solve. So I just need to look out a few options and QED.
