Scully, not necessarily, check your tubers if your tubers are not all shriveled up and dried out (hard) they should be fine. I had a friend who used to dig her tubers and wrap them in newspaper, she stored in cardboard boxes in a cool cellar. It's a good idea to check your tubers a couple of times throughout the winter to make sure they are not drying out, this usually happens when they are stored in a place to warm. If the storage area is cool, not freezing they should be all right.

I'm in a warmer zone than you but the method of storing I like best is to dig a pit below the frost level in the veggie garden or.... line the bottom with peat or shavings put the tubers in, top with shavings or peat, bury, then cover the top of the pit with some kind of lid to keep the rain off them. They get enough moisture from the sides to stop them from shriveling and in my case this really works and I don't give them another thought all winter.
Although I'm in zone 8 I can't leave them where I plant them, we get way too much rain throughout the winter, they just rot.

Annette

Oh, good. There's still a chance. I did check them once and they looked good. Hopefully it works; they were the best bunch I've ever had.

Thanks for the info! :-)

scully, I just dig the tubers in the fall....throw them in boxes, put them on a shelf in my basement and forget about them. I don't use peat or anything to cover them. I can see green shoots sticking out of the boxes now....but will ignor them till sometime in May...at which time I plant them directly in the ground. I am zone 2. I lose a tuber or 2 sometimes, but most of the time they are fine. Oh and don't leave bulbs and tubers on cement even in cardboard boxes....the cement pulls moisture from them and they will dry out....that is why the boxes are on shelves.

If you visit the dahlia forum on GW, you will see that many people store their dahlias differently. I guess you have to find what works for you. I have way to many to wrap and fuss. I also have several other bulbs that I store this way for the winter. It works for me.

Sierra

-scully, I did it a different way when I had Dahlias (not really into them now). In the fall I dig up the Dahlias, cut off the foliage, and pot them up. Make sure to get a large enough pot and use a well-draining soil (sand is great). Then just stick the Dahlias in a cool, dark spot. I kept mine under the house. Then check them every month or so. Stick your finger into the dirt. If it is dry give em' a bit of water. It is best to let them dry out a little bit in-between waterings.
Hope this helps.
CMK

Thanks for the advice and comments, everyone. Not as bad as I thought then. I'll be getting them out this weekend and having a look. They were on cement - I didn't know about the moisture being pulled out. But, they were in a plastic bin, not a box, so hopefully that helped. Hope the hardy banana survived! I swear I've tried every method ever posted and none of them work for me. (And I'm only in zone 6.) :-)