You let them dry too much :-) They can't be allowed to dry out and tubers that are allowed to dry to look like "raisins" are much too dry to remain viable. IMO, these are some of the easiest of the summer flowering, tender bulbs to store. You can let them go through a light frost to kill back the tops or cut them back to about 4" when the foliage starts to go over at the end of season. Dig them out carefully and wash the soil off. Let them air dry a bit to remove excess water then wrap them individually in newspaper or store in a cardboard box filled with slightly moistened sawdust or peat moss. Keep each tuber from touching its neighbor - this can create rot. Store in a cool, dry place over winter. Check periodically to make sure the tubers are not too dry and spritz with water lightly if necessary. And make sure there is some air available - don't store in a plastic bag, etc. If you grow them in containers, you can follow the first part of these instructions but rather than digging, allow them to remain in the container over winter under similar conditions. Let the container soil dry out naturally to a barely moist state and make sure it stays just barely moist and doesn't dry completely. If they are stored too warm, the plants will want to begin to grow again so keep at temps right around 40F, not much more. I wait until spring planting time to divide. The 'eyes' or growth buds are more visible then and each division must have at least one of these eyes.

Mel-grower, Thanks for rephrasing the question, as it is a good one. While potatoes have eyes sporadically all over the potatoe, dahlias have eyes only on the collar. I have split the tuber as you suggest with a piece of the tuber, and a bit of the collar containing an eye. The problem that often occurs is that rot sets in, hence I try to minimize the cut on the tuber. That being said, I have had some success doing it the way you describe. Sometimes, I have found the tubers to be too huge, and have cut off the bottom part. When I cut, I always add some bulb dust/fungicide to help cure the cut, and prevent rot. I usually start them in the medium first, so that I can clearly see where the eyes are, and then make the cut. We all learn through experimentation. Try some, and let us know how it works for you. John

Hi Marty, thanks for the link. So probably it is some kind of new cultivar, not some well known classic... And it does look similar to some of those Swan Island pics. I will definetely use it for my next year`s color scheme (pink, pastel yallow, lime green). THe plant performed well till the end, healthy foliage and all. And I cant imagine that the lady I got it from would have tolerated a degrading Dahlia, rather culled it. Well thanks, it was worth a try, bye, Lin

just reading the discussion regarding saran wrap.I have used Press and Seal on about 1/2 of my stock for the last two years and have been very happy with the results. I somtimes leave two or three tubers connected to the crown the Press and Seal allows my to do this and still keep a barrier between the tubers in case one spoils. When I get tired of wrapping, I store the balance of my stock in wood chips. The wood chips do not work as well for small tubers, but seem to be okay for some of the larger or more "hearty" varietes of tubers (Tempest, O'Condah, Blue Bayou, Black Satin, Nijinsky)