"Dahlias like vegetable fertilizer, which is typically low in nitrogen (the first number on the fertilizer package.) Use 5-10-10, 10-20-20, or the best would be 0-20-20." Dahlias need more nitrogen than this. There are posts on this forum about the "low nitrogen myth" Nitrogen washes out of soil and needs to be replenished every year. At the Bonneyville Dahlia trial garden sponsored by the American Dahlia Society they only use nitrogen as the fertilizer because their soil tests say that they have adequate pohosphorus and potassium in the soil. Without doing a soil test, most people should use something like the 5-10-10 or 10-20-20 but do so in moderation and do so several times in smaller amounts until about August 1st. Many people who have used fertilizer in their flower beds for several years will have a build up of phosphorus and should use fertilizer with low phosphorus. By the way, the new "greener" fertilizers are lower in phosphorus.

As far as I know cuttings are as virused as the original plant

Linht, Thanks!! According to an online hydroponics site, the growing area for a 4Â 4-tube New Wave T5 HO fixture is 4Â x 2.5Â. ThatÂs almost exactly my growing space in each cabinet. The growing area for the 8-tube unit is 4Â x 4Â, more than I need. I would like to assume that I should be able to achieve 3600fc at 11" with the 4-tube unit in my space. I compared the price of single unit fixtures ($49) with reflectors ($30) to multiple tube units (4-tube=$395), and funny enough, thereÂs a considerable difference. I can save ~$80 per cabinet and all I have to do is cut a couple of 2"x4" to attach the 4 fixtures and hangers to. I am going to get 4 German aluminum reflectors as an experiment. I will see if thereÂs a difference with them, and if so, how much. I am now planning on making a canopy with the fixtures attached. The canopy will be a piece of board covered with 2mm reflective Mylar film. My thinking is that this should be almost as effective as aluminum reflectors, and considerably cheaper. IÂll use 2mm Mylar reflective film (~$1.06/foot) on all sides as well. That should make the entire cabinet reflective under the lights. As I already have 6 double T5 HO fixtures, this will do for 3 cabinets. For the other 3 cabinets IÂll get single T5 HO fixtures so I can more evenly space them across the space. The additional lights certainly add to the cost per cabinet, but not having to use board on all sides has reduced the cost at the same time. With 4 T5 single-tube fixtures, without reflectors, the cost before tax is now ~$335/cabinet. With reflectors the cost is ~$455. Using my current price for electricity ($0.114/kwh) each cabinet will cost ~$0.35/day to run. So now I have to get the materials to make the next set of light tests. Viking, FWIW, the Mylar is more expensive than tin foil but it does have distinct advantages. Firstly, it doesnÂt ripple the way tin foil does, and is less likely to tear. This should mean it will yield a more even surface to reflect light, and be easier to work with. Also, you can get it in 4Â wide rolls. It claims it has 98% reflectivity, which is higher than even panda plastic. Cheers, Russ

One common mistake (at least for me, in the past) with growing cuttings is not properly monitoring moisture in the potting medium (aka "soil"). Obviously, you don't want the soil to dry out, but it's equally important to make sure the drainage is sufficient so that the soil in the lower part of the container doesn't stay wet. It can be really difficult to judge unless you dig down or have some other method to measure the moisture. I used clear cups once, thinking I could see the moisture level. After a few cuttings died and I dumped the soil out, I found that, even though the soil didn't look wet, it was actually soaking wet and my cuttings had died from root rot. I'd bet more cuttings (at least the ones grown under plastic/glass) die from root rot than from lack of moisture. Proper moisture levels and potting medium aeration are keys factors in growing cuttings.