Temperatures dipped, magnolia branches come inside,
dipping temperatures mean drooping blosssoms.
Through a cloudy glass in early morning light, it doesn’t look so bad, but do not look more closely because the blossoms have had their day and they’ve been called to finish their display sooner than hoped. Some buds will never open, and will fall with their waxy weight to the ground too soon. With magnolias, you learn to enjoy their brief glory.
Leave behind the regrets over spent magnolias and get busy with Spring chores. The raised beds need more ammending, the cold frame beckons to be planted with early lettuce. The forsythia bloom and herald time to prune roses. I am glad not to be Martha Stewart who would have a cast of workers washing windows and putting up clean screens. I am content to look through cloudy windows for the moment because household chores are quite low in the pecking order. There are more serious issues to ponder and the chores will be done in due time.You can lose yourself in gardening out in the cold or you can play with your dahlia tubers. I tested a few tubers, placing them on damp potting soil in flats to determine their viability.
Orange Nugget is ready to roll! I can propagate from this new growth.
Just cut above a pair of leaves, dip stem in rooting hormone, place in sterile potting soil and place in a warm humid spot, doesnt need to be fancy, you can put into a large plastic bag, and wait for roots to form. A new dahlia plant! That same tuber will continue to produce new growth and you can end up with more dahlias than you desire – give to friends and family! If this is more time consuming than you can allow…maybe you have children to care for or dogs to walk
but if you want to allow some time in your day for indoor gardening…propagating dahlias can be rewarding. True, almost any form of gardening has rewards beyond the effort given. You reap what you sow.
Look what my sister is reaping! She is busy designing and creating with her fabrics and needles again. I will tell you more when she gets an Etsy shop up and going…I know you will love what she is up to! Visit her at the Daily Fiber.
Jayne In Georgia 
Good tips for increasing the dahlia plants – I did it for the first time last year and was really pleased with the results – will definitely do it again
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Everything looks lovely through your windows. Didn’t realize dahlias were so easy to propagate!
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