I appreciate all these suggestions. Leaving them in the ground to rot and fertilize what's planted there next year sounds brilliant. The lazy way is so often the best! The dahlias are a nice red, but not that special. I don't want to seem like a dog in a manger (a manger full of dahlia tubers) but cleaning and packing them up sounds like work, which is what I'm trying to avoid. Sending them overland parcel post to Maine, for example, would cost $20 Can. for a 5kg (11 lb), 12"x12" box and take 10-11 days to arrive. There'd be some dirt attached, hidden worms, the odd wireworm with terrorist intentions (for all we know) - not something your Dept. of Agriculture would appreciate. There is no local paper. There are millions of rocks (lol)... I need to dig up a 4 o'clock, see if it's a tuber from last year; they came up so fast and early this spring I thought this was the case. But they may have been self-seeded.

Thank you Boca Joe! I do appreciate your help. I have cut off the shoots and will put the pot with the other ones that are behaving themselves. I had put this one in the bag on the windowsill where it would be dark and cool thinking that it would have the best conditions for survival. Lesson learned :-) Lois

Hi Grace My answer may not help you at all but... I live in Sf and have grown dahlias out in the sunset for years (which is one of the worst environments for growing flowers) and in my opinion, you are causing more work than you need to for yourself. I NEVER have started my dahlias indoors, I never have dug them up for overwintering and I rarely even touch them after they bloom in year one. And I (just being honest) have a yard that is the envy of my friends and neighbors. Even in heavier rain years, I never worry about my tubers and in years like this, I find I have to go out and water in the winter in order for them to get ANY moisture. Do I lose dahlias? Sure do. But not often and usually only when I am lazy and allow the snails to have at em when they start sprouting. But if I lose a few (out of 90+ and counting), it gives me an excuse to buy more tubers the next year! You may well grow beautiful dahlias with all the dedication you are showing but for my money, it is much ado about nothing. Dahlias are hardy and once they get used to their environments, they last forever. And you know well in the sunset we get up to 2-3 months of NO SUN and heavy fog. So if I can grow beauties with little maintenance, I am sure you can also. If you prefer the high maintenance route, go for it. But I think you will find it a full time job because there will ALWAYS be something - mold, rot, lack of water, too much water, snails, too much heat (sun), not enough heat, freezing temps, long foggy months, staking, and maybe , just maybe, the tuber was no good from the get go DESPITE what you do! Good luck. And if you live in the sunset and want to see my yard some time, I have dahlias from May to November but the best month is August. Come on by!

Love opposing views. I have been storing dahlia tubers in plastic bags for over 20 years now and I do not seal the bag so there is some air getting in there and my success rate is outstanding. I store several thousand tubers each year. Not only do cardboard boxes wick moisture but they also can rot when they they get moist and can cause rotten tubers. And I have heard of very many people having their entire crop of tubers eaten by mice that chewed through the cardboard boxes. I experimented with the potting soil and put my best tubers in it. They stored much worse than those in vermiculite and sprouted in storage weeks before the others. Sprouting while in storage is not good. Potting soil is not a good storage medium. I would use nothing at all in preference to potting soil. Swan island Dahlias uses no storage medium and places their tubers into plastic tulip crates that are lined on the top and bottom with sheets of newspaper. There success rate is pretty good and they store several hundred thousand tubers each year. However, they have a dedicated potato root cellar for their storage facility and the temps an humidity are ideal. Off gassing does not occur in plastic bags at any rate that hurts tubers if you use vermiculite in the bag and/or you dry the tubers before storage.