Your cuttings have already been hardened off, which means they are tough enough to handle the outdoor sun and wind straight away. However, because they have been traveling in a dark box, they might be a little stressed. Give them a couple of days to acclimatise to your local microclimate before planting them out.

• If you aren't planting straightaway: Keep them in a bright, sheltered spot outdoors and make sure they don't dry out. Cuttings have a small root ball and need regular water until they get into the ground.

• When to plant: Get them into the ground as soon as your soil has warmed up in spring and the threat of frost is completely gone.

1. Spot and Soil Selection

Dahlias are sun worshippers and heavy feeders. To get the best out of your plant, give it the right home:

• Sunlight: Choose a position that gets at least 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight every day.

• The Soil: They need rich, fluffy soil that drains beautifully. Mix in a generous amount of compost or aged manure before planting. If your soil holds too much water, the young roots will struggle.

2. Planting Your Cutting

• The Deep Planting Trick: To give your plant the absolute best start, gently strip off the lowest set or two of leaves on the stem.

• Dig a hole deep enough so you can bury the cutting right up to that newly stripped area, sitting it deeper than it was in its original cell. This extra depth helps anchor the young plant against the wind and encourages roots to shoot from the buried stem, which potentially gives you a much better haul of tubers at the end of the season.

• Gently slide the cutting out of its cell and pop it in the hole. Firm the soil gently around the base so the plant is secure.

• The First Drink: Water them in immediately. Unlike tubers, cuttings don't have built-in water storage yet, so they need a good soak right away to settle their roots into the surrounding soil.

3. Support and Pinching (The Secret to More Flowers)

• Staking: Put a sturdy stake in the ground right next to your cutting at planting time. It is much easier to provide support at time of planting rather than trying to rescue a collapsed plant later.

• Pinching: When your plant reaches about 30cm high, snip or pinch off the very central growing tip. It feels a bit brutal, but this forces the plant to branch out, giving you a sturdy, bushy plant with double the amount of flowers.

4. Ongoing Care and Harvesting

• Feeding: Start your young plants off with a regular, balanced fertilizer to help them build strong stems and lush green growth. Once you see the plant starting to form its very first flower buds, switch over to a fertilizer that is lower in Nitrogen and higher in Potassium/Potash (like a tomato or flower food) for stunning, vibrant blooms. Too much nitrogen gives you a massive green plant but very few flowers.
• Harvesting Blooms: Always use clean, sharp snips to prevent spreading any plant diseases. When picking your flowers or deadheading old blooms, do not be afraid to cut deep into the plant. Cutting right down to a strong set of leaf nodes forces the plant to branch out even further, rewarding you with long, strong stems and way more blooms.

• The Bonus: While your cutting starts as just a stem, it will spend the summer growing a brand-new clump of tubers underground. By the end of the season, you'll have a full clump to dig up and save for the following year!

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