We use survey tape in the same way- each plant has a piece of tape with the name & description on it so there's no confusion. When the plant is dug it gets cut up right away & the tubers put in their own container which is also labelled. A lot of fuss but guarantees that the tubers are named right when planting time comes around in the spring.

I make a label similar to the copper tag and initially attach it to a half inch rebar stake at planting time.

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It is then attached to the clump at digging time.

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These are some labels and wires to attach them.

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These are the tubers marked for storage.

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The rebar stakes can be used over and over for many years. They come in 20 foot lengths and can be cut to four 5 footers.They can be purchased at Home Depot, Lowes or most builder supply stores.
Label makers are available at Office Max, Staples or any office supply stores. The label backing is made from plastic
home siding and the wire comes from phone company cable scraps.
I mark my tubers with Sanford No Blot Ink Pencil. I usually get mine from wherever I buy my tubers.

Great illustrations. Rebar makes great plant stakes. I sprayed mine with John Deere green (although my hubby is a Farmall man).

Isn't the bottle of ink in a pen wonderful!! I was using a toothbrush to wet the side of the tuber, then discovered a damp cloth was enough for perfect writing.

hanging head in shame: I actually licked a tuber today because I had to add a few letters in No Blot pencil and it was too dry. I am confident the sulphur dust will kill any mutant germs from my mouth. Equally confident we are not serving dahlia tubers for supper.

Great photos Bernie- you are a wonderful resource for us.

Poochella! Aren't you afraid of getting TUBER LIPS from that? hope sulfer is specific agaisnt TUBER LIPS! LOL

I have been obsessing over dahlias and what I want next year,a s well as making up a photo list of what I have...as good a way as I could think of to get through a cold! What did I we decide I would have from you and what did you want of mine? Don't know where I put the notes, but am ready now to make up a trade sheet.

Liza

I'll email you soon Liza. I've got the notes.

Some on the dahlia forum do love their tubers. (What would life be if we couldn't kid each other a little.) I imagine that was just as good as my damp cloth and you didn't have to pick anything up!!!!

I'm not in the same class as the rest of you--in knowledge, garden size, or, even, common sense. However, I have done some pollination (with a Q-tip), then wrapped the bloom in tulle to keep the bees out.....and I love my plants. I actually mourn when one of them doesn't make it through the winter storage. Last year, my tubers which were marked with the label maker and stored ended up being "unknowns"...because the letters somehow disappeared. (How THAT happened, I do not know--and I'm not totally stupid.) I had, thankfully, embossed the name, then inked over the etching on many copper and steel tags, and, then, attached them with wire to some of the storage containers. This spring, when the plants came up, I attached a metal tag to each stalk; this is the first time in 6 years that I haven't been confused--an easy thing to happen, since I tend to be a random thinker. I've used maps, diagrams, marking pens, marked posts etc....all with disasterous results to my mental health. I lurk around this forum to glean tips about organizing from all of you experts....and I only have about 25 different dahlias. I thank you all.

Random thinker: now that's a term that applies to me! Even being extra careful with labelling and tags and such I managed to grow a Chilson's Pride out of a tuber clearly marked Camano Choice, and grew a Camano Choice out of one labelled Camano Thunder (major grief ensued, not because I don't like Camano Choice, but I really wanted to see how Thunder would do in a better spot this year.) Oh drat...

So far this year I have only one unknown tuber (that I KNOW of) because at the end of a long day I found a stray left on the work table. It was too good to toss, so it is labelled with ??? and both of the varieties that it may possibly been batched with when I was finishing up. How's that for random?

Heehoo, What do you mean you are in a different class!! This is only my second year with more than 10 dahlias___sounds like you are well on your way, hybridizing and all___and there are so many new friends here with some of the same interests.
Dahlias all out of the ground and stored away. It's like the end of a chapter. Now for spring.

Jamlover, it's the end of the hard part; now you can while away a few weeks at the link below. One of the fun parts.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to Spend Your Winter Vacation

Is there anywhere in Oregon and Washington that isn't covered with fields of dahlias!!! So many places in those states selling tubers.
I bought a number last year just from descriptions and pretty faces. Didn't even realize there were garden dahlias and then cutting or show dahlias.
I am interested in knowing the names of some of the earlier to bloom garden dahlias so I can choose more wisely this year.