Had it already been struck when you bought it or "just" a cutting? The best method to get pieces going is to lay them flat and part bury them. Though as Pam says, she does wel with tip cuttings.
You say it's alive - so what's showing to indicate that? Here they are already well into growth of a couple of feet or a couple of meters so it doesn't sound too hopeful

thanks for the replies,the dahlia is a foot long cutting,with at least five pairs of nodes.when I scratched a tiny piece of the bark off, underneath is green,so I assume its still alive.Didnt lay flat,planted upright.that could be the problem...might try replanting horizontally.will try tip cuttings next season if it doesn't work.

Try tip cuttings taking cutting underneath a node, use hormorme powder no2. Keep cutting moist but not too wet as it will rot or lay horizonally in ground. I have a purple tree dahlia and plently of the bulbs, could post you one when they become dormant if you would like?
I live in Baulkham Hills in Sydney.

Shonterava,that would be great,I tried laying the last cutting horizontally,but I think it was too late to save it.I would love a bulb as I think they are a lovely and unusual plant.Please drop me a line at bulb time,re postage etc,thanks.

I got cutting, too,which did not grow, but I think that slaters probably ate anything the lot.

There was a young lady named Lea,
Who decided to grow a new tree,
She put in a tree dahlia,
But that was a failure,
..it left her completely at sea!

Groan, groan. My apologies...I couldn't help myself!!

I'm having failure of a different type now - one purchased one turned up its toes in a tub. The others, cutting'grown, the soil is so dry now here that they can't root deeply and have bowed over and started to grow horizontally!!!! I daren't try rotating at this stage as I'll probably do more harm so will just try for some cuttings again later. My tip next time is to stake the things the minute they start sprouting!

I have the double white and single pink (I think) because they have not flowered either in Melbourne or Marysville. I suspect that the spot at the former is too shaded and the latter is too damn cold! Just gets a bit of size before the cold sorts it out. Had a 2C morning last week at Marysville. Ran over the hose and you can guess what happened.

Lomatia .. I'm in the NSW Southern Tablelands - freezing winter and stinking hot summer (but autumn is nice). A friend has been growing tree dahlias for some years. She has them in an open position which gets full sun. Normally they flower beautifully. But I think the drought is biting hard - they came into growth very slowly this year and just started budding in time for the first frost.

Perhaps you might try a different position.

I have them scattered around the garden, some in shade, some in partial sun,and a very few in sun. Thery all started as cuttings laid horizontally. All are doing well. Some in bloom, some in bud about to burst and some just starting to bud. Have done nothing to them, no water,no fertilizer, just left to their own devices. And yes, I think its cold here.

Am in Tassie and I put cuttings in horizontally last year and they have grown to 6' tall, am anxiously waiting for them to flower. We have been in drought conditions here and like flytower, I just left them to their own devices.

Hello; If anyone has a cutting from a tree dahlia available, please email me.

Thank You
John

Hey guys dont dispair, I have grown a 11 feet tall beautiful looking tree dahlia from a stem cutting grown in a vertical position... I had a wonderful array of flowers and the bees and birds luvD it...

They also luv compost and fertiliser... the luv Sunny position and but dont like wind or frost... as a rule of thumb, mature plants can withstand many of the ailments.. but still need tlc...

good luck with it all...

cheers..

I have planted my canes lying down & they are now 5 feet tall & growing in Melbourne against a fence facing North, I have been shading them on very hot days & also laid plenty of snail bait when they first showed any shoots coming up.

Yvonne

Did the tube have any nodes on it to start with. Did you get any greenery happening at all at the nodes before planting, it can take a while. The first one I was given didn't work and the following year someone gave me for tubes, one already started in a pot. They are both growing, full sun is best and they do have green leaves this year.