I am not quite ready to un box my stored tubers yet, but what I do is place each tuber in a sandwich sized baggie. with some moist - not soaking wet - peat moss. It allows me to have 20-40 tubers in a standard tray. I keep the baggie mostly closed until I see sprouts, then open it so the sprout doesnt rot. I keep some in a south facing window, and others under fluorescent lights. The baggies take up a lot less room than pots do. The fast growers end up getting moved into pots, but space is at a premium in my growing area, so pots are on an "as needed" basis.

That advise is good for most climates, BUT a tuber will not grow in bone dry soil. The soil or mix should be continuously COOL to the touch, and if that means you have to water lightly before the sprout emerges, then by all means do it. Most area's soil have enough moisture to kickstart a dahlia out of dormancy and into producing roots/sprouts. The 'never water before it emerges' advise is to keep overzealous growers from drowning the tuber with constant soggy soil, which will lead to rot. But so will planting outside too early, with the soil temperature under 60 degrees and constant cold spring rain. Most serious dahlia growers prestart their tubers inside under lights to better control the temp and water supply, to avoid rotting because of that 'constant cold spring rain.' The unfortunate tuber in this thread probably never had a chance, and most likely had nothing to do with amount of water it received. Looks to me like it was 'dead on arrival,' with the starches and eyes dried up before the person ever purchased it.

I had to chuckle, I was going through a box in the basement and I found a bunch of stuff I'd taken out of the ground for storage, not after last season, but after 2012 season. Most everything was desiccated except for two dahlias, which showed sprouts. I planted them. Reminds me, I better go check on them. But yeah, do it yesterday, they might make it. May not bloom, but should give the roots a chance to reconstitute ⦠_~ dave

I always seem to have the problem of the plants having to wait for me to get around too it. In my earlier years, when I had more time for such things on my hands, I would always transplant them into net pots in the house and keep them there until roots came out the bottom then transplant them outside. They probably had the first set of true leaves on them by then. now I generally start them in potting soil in '6 packs' then was off the dirt and transplant when I can, leaving them outside the whole time. Regarding what you said about plant support: I personally think the support provided by the hydroton is superior to soil for newborns. There is more give so if the plants happen to get pushed over they're less likely to snap at the soil line. When they're larger, that is another issue. Then you have to worry more about your troughs "rolling over" in heavy wind more than the plants toppling out of or pulling out the net pots. Any plant that top heavy generally gets overhead support anyhow.