Its so sad to read so many posts on this forum where people have tried this wrapping in plastic method and lost all their lovely dahlias.

Try storing in brown paper bags next year or in peat or vermiculite as other posts have mentioned here.

Good luck with your new treasures!

Sierra

I lost 95% of my tubers the year I divided and stored in peat moss. Last year I lost only a few in plastic wrap, this year more like 20% because of my own folly- not the method of storage.

Linnea did you use some kind of antifungal before storing?
I know I'm going to have to switch from sulphur dust for storing because I seem to have a pretty consistent skin reaction when I'm handling it.

Consider yourself fortunate at only spending 3 days. I spent over a month of days/evenings as work allowed. A guy I bought tubers from had 10,000 plants and STILL wasn't done dividing in April. Clearly, he needs help!

I guess this is a continual learning process and you have to find what works for you. What I've learned is what works one year will be foiled or twisted by some other fate the following year. There are just too many variables: virus,fungus,temperature, moisture, critters, bugs, thugs, dogs, wind, rain, hail. You can't beat em all, all the time. But when you have success, there is nothing sweeter.

I was thinking this over while looking through the tubers for at least ONE good one. There are so many variables to control. I had these in my garage refrigerator crisper. This fridge does not get very cold (which is why we bought a new one for the kitchen) so I thought it would be ideal. Before I decide to store them there I tested several places by leaving a thermometer there for a day. We were having a cold snap right after I dug the tubers so it was a good time to test. The garage itself, even though attached to the house, freezes. I tested the garage wall that attaches to the house figuring that might have some heat leak, but there wasn't. It was below freezing. I tested my basement crawl space: too warm (~over 60 F). The frig crisper was 50 F. I continued to test off and on after storing them, but stopped after a month. I think the temp must have fluctuated enough to freeze them or rot them.

I did not use any antifungal: I didn't have any and it seemed a lot of people said it was not necessary.

The last time I tried storing dahlias (~10 years ago) I followed the instructions of the friend who gave them to me: stored them in a closed box with dampened peat moss, stored in a cool place in the basement. She said to check it several times over the winter, and sprinkle water in if it felt dry. I did this. In the spring mine were shriveled wizened little things. Hers were fine, as usual. I figured her "microconditions" were just more favorable than mine.
The next year I tried wrapping in paper (as a different friend suggested) and hanging them in the rafters of my crawl space. Same result.

If there's another technique, somebody tell me. I wouldn't bother anymore except I already bought this year's dahlias...

Get a big rubbermaid type tub and fill it with dirt cheap vermiculite. I got more than I'll use in my lifetime for a pittance at a feed store. Tubers: Clean them,label them, cut them, I would recommend treating with antifungal (but that's up to you,) bury them in the vermiculite and keep them from freezing. Spritz water in every once in a while through the winter. Perhaps that won't be as dehydrating as peat moss seems to be for some. I did this with about 15 last year. 2 rotted, 4 dried out completely, and the others made it fine.

Where you store the tub is something to ponder. The beauty of the plastic wrap is the space-saving it offers, let alone preservation of the tubers (usually.)

Since your fridge wasn't reliable, do you think it's possible it froze in there? Our old fridge in the garage produces gallons of frozen milk/juice/water bottles on its own schedule! Some weeks it's fine, some weeks are superchilled. Some days it makes noises that make me want to take cover before she blows! Just a thought...

Poochella, I'll try the anti-fungal if it might help. What should I look for? No feed stores around here for the vermiculite, unfortunately: but I'll keep my eyes open on my travels this summer. I bought one very small bag for about $3 in a local store to add to my potting mix.

I think it IS possible the frig froze them. It goes on a bender occasionally, which we found out this winter:first year it's been in the garage. It went on a thaw and we lost all the meat in the freezer part. It probably decided to freeze the crisper part too.

I'll have to test various areas in my basement for temperatures.

This is all very interesting!

I have been using the bare in paper bag method for 9 years and I think I lost two tubers in all that time. I store the big clumps, this assures viable tubers come spring, with lots of eyes.

To my way of thinking....the plastic wrap could trap in moisture which in turn will cause rot. Or condensation will forum on the plastic in storage and cause rot. The same with spraying them in peat or vermiculite.....again the moisture could cause rot.

Just my thoughts...so many posts with lost tubers, is still very sad.

Sierra

I use simple bulb dusting powder which is an antifungal powder. I think it is essential. I only lost ONE tuber this year, and that was with the saran wrap method. Fortunately, the saran wrap did not allow the mushiness to be passed on to those next to it. It also appeared that there was not as much dusting powder on it, as I recall now.

This is my process:
1) dig the plant carefully, and then cut the stock off above the eyes area ( with labels placed on the plant);
2) clean them up with the hose, getting as much dirt off as possible (replace the labels carefully);
3) let these air dry for a day in the garage;
4) put some of the dusting powder in a plastic bag, and drop the tubers into it and shake it all around so cover the tuber well. Then I give the tuber a good shake to shake off any loose dust. This part I do outdoors so that the dust is blown away from me, and I don't breath it.
5) take used plastic grocery bags and place a few of the similarly named tubers into the bag, and then I try to wrap them fairly tightly together. The bags are labelled with the plant name, and placed into a cardboard box.
6) The box will have several different types of dahlias all wrapped in the recycled grocery bags. This is then placed on the inside wall of my cold cellar right next to the door to the adjacent room. It does not freeze here. I keep a thermometer in the room, and on really cold nights, I sometimes open the door a little so the warmth of my wine cellar goes into the cold cellar, just in case. I know from experience that freezing will kill them.

It is important that the tubers be kept dry, but not allowed to shrivel, as in peat moss. It is important that they not be allowed to freeze. It is important that they not grow any fungus.

Here are two things not mentioned here that I do. Cut the stalks down several days before you dig the tubers. After I dig them, I wash them off and then let them dry out completely before I even try to separate the tubers. They must be DRY before they are wrapped in Saran Wrap. I think it's best to dust them with sulpher, but one year I didn't have any and they were ok without it.

They did dry off 1 or 2 days before I divided them. They took so much washing to get the dirt off (tight little baseballs) that it took a long time for them to dry too. I didn't have any sulphur. There was no dampness when I wrapped them. But in retrospect, I think the frig did its fluctuation thing and froze them. So they have to be stored elsewhere this fall, however I decide to wrap them. I just don't seem to have any places that are the optimum temperature.

I've been reading this post with interest b/c I've had mixed results, too.

The first year did the saran wrap method and lost them all to mold. Last yr, I left each of the plants intact, washed, dried them on newspapers in the garage, dusted them with Comet (cleanser) and stored them in peat in recycled paper grocery bagsin our unheated sump pump room with the door closed and right up against the coldest wall. I'm keeping a thermometer in there and the temps in there seem to hover around 50.

When I checked them in Jan, some plants had mold. I cut the moldy sections off, reburied the rest of the plants in the peat. I lost alot mostly to drying out.

This year I had the best results by storing the entire undivided plants in peat in plastic grocery bags loosely tied at the top. I only lost 2 plants and of course, they were my most fav -- Fascination. I lost them to drying out, not mold.

Things I learned so far: I noticed the stems of the dinnerplate dahlias are full of water (naturally). Thus, after cleaning, I dry the plants upside down in the garage floor on newspapers for 2 or 3 days. I'm having more success with dividing each plant in the spring and only into thirds, replanting larger clumps.

Lastly, linnea, I wanted to comment on your frig in the garage. I read up on putting a new frig in the garage where I planned to put beverages. It is not recommended and in fact will void a warranty b/c of freezing temps. And stuff in the frig can freeze. I had visions of exploding pop cans and bottles and therefore didn't buy one for the garage. So I agree. Your frig might be a contributor to losing the tubers.

TTYL,
Honey

Hi,
I have not seen any discussion on best humidity conditions for storing Dahlias. Winter air can get terribly dry. Even I shrivel in winter. Perhaps if humidity could be controlled to a certain % that would have better results for not drying out. I realize humidity has been mentioned, what I am talking about is knowing and controlling the humidity to a desired %.

intercessor

I had dahlias for the first time last year, and did a lot of reading about how to store the tubers. There were so many different ways that I wavered, trying to decide which to use -- and then we had a freeze and it was time to dig. It was getting close to Christmas and I was short on time, so after letting the clump (unwashed, just had the dried dirt brushed off of them) sit in my (55-60 degrees) kitchen for about two weeks, I dusted them with cinnamon (I read that was an antifungal but it could be an old wives' tale), tossed them into a paper bag with dry peat moss, and stuck them on the steps to the basement (about 50 degrees).

I pulled them out this spring and looked at them . . . and they didn't look so good. Kind of dry and shrively. Even after looking at lots of pictures, I wasn't very good at finding eyes, and I certainly didn't see any on these.

But, things oddly have a way of resurrecting themselves in my garden, so I went ahead and planted out -- the whole clump -- to see what would happen. One week and then two went by, and nothing -- I was sure they were dead. A week later -- foliage!!! I was thrilled.

So, it lived!!

Same story with my glads and cannas (my first year for those again) -- didn't look good, but came back strong. (Half the cannas had a little mold . . . apparently didn't deter them!)

I don't know what a healthy tuber is supposed to look like after storage, but I think no matter what they look like I will always give them a shot! I don't have too many, so it's not difficult to do that.

Was I supposed to moisten the peat? I did not do that. Humidity in the area they were stored was likely about 60% -- it's pretty low in the house but the stairs are above a damp basement.

I'm also guessing that if I start the clump in a big pot, once I see some foliage, I'll be able to tell more easily where the eyes are? If that's the case, I can divide at that point to get more dahlias. The clump that started as a couple of tubers last year doubled in size by fall; it'll likely do the same this year.

Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised that although I'm completely clueless, it seems like all (or at least most) of my overwintered tubers/bulbs came through. Surprised the heck out of me :).

:-) Mel

Well one survived. Never say die - mine were the saran wrap (first time I tried to store dahlias). Some rot but because of the layers the rest of the package looked okay. I've had these in foil pans with soil since March. They went outside in April. I decided that I had goofed in separating them and had no eyes on them, but lo and behold last week I saw a sprout. We've been really below average in temps here, so I'm waiting to see what happens when it finally warms up.

I must say though that when I dug up my wonderful Carribbean Fantasy it was so huge (and I loved it so much that I was afraid to lose it) that I found a five gallon bucket, wedged the whole thing (undivided) in sideways and filled with soil. I left it in the unheated unattached garage with a blanket thrown over it. We had temps in the single digits even though it was a milder than normal winter and this baby got planted last month. It's already been pinched once and it's about half a foot tall.

This is interesting. I store my dahlias the same way I store all my other stuff (callas, other summer bulbs). I dig them up in the fall, shake the dirt off, and toss them in a bag. I don't wash them. I leave the bag in the basement over the winter. I never do anything else with them. Come april-may, I open the bag and there's usually green in there, as they are already sprouting. I didn't lose any this year, I don't recall past years. Some of these are 5-6 years old. I don't divide them, though. Maybe that is why I have better luck?