Saran wrapping avoids shriveling caused by dehydration, storing in vermiculite, peat moss or wood shavings does cause dehydration and in many cases, when the tubers are not big, this causes the tuber to dehydrate to death specially when you have to store them for a long period of time like in the case of the north where tubers have to remain stored for many months. On the other side, a basketball size clump, even if allowed to dehydrate is not going to suffer much. Normally I dont lift my tubers unless they have stayed for too long in the ground ( 3-4 years ) or when I need to change their location; but when I do I store them in peat moss, when the eyes appear I divide but this usually means that the tubers are not going to be stored for long, I lift my tubers in December and plant again in February.

Raul, ....it is so nice to read once more your offerings...I had been missing them from that other place.

Question: I'm new to the saran wrap method...and frankly I have purposely not used it since I have had success with the enveloping the clump in peat moss and storing in a coldcellar.
But, from what I read about the method of cocooning in plastic wrap is that the clump is dissected...fully...every tuber is taken away and allowed a period of drying before doing the wrapping...then storing in the usual way.

This seemed strange in that I was always led to believe that "eyes" had to accompany the tuber for it to ever hope to become a plant. NO eyes, no plant.

But, it seems under the wrap method, eyes form over winter or in the ground when the tuber is planted in spring.

This is the one reason why I'm scared to ever try this.
I suppose I could pull off a few tubers from my large clumps...but hesitate....cuz I just don't believe this can happen.

What are your views.....and again, glad to see ya.

Hi Diane !, long time no see.

I really can´t make an educated opinion on the method, I know under which principles it works but never tried it, I don´t need to lift the tubers so no need for me to store them for an extended period of time, storing them in peat moss works fine for me but it´s only for a couple of months. Now, on the subject of stripping the clump of every tuber and wrapping them for what I know only the tuber ( s ) that are immediately below an eye are the ones that are wrapped, as you said NO eyes-->NO plant.

The problem here is that I know how dahlias behave down here, I know that if I lift them in December the clump forms eyes around late January, that´s when I divide them, wait a couple of weeks for the tissue where I made the cut to dry and after that I give them away and keep only a few tubers to keep the plant.

Here´s were things get a little bit confusing, I know that you have the green finger, if the traditional method of storing like you and I do has worked fine why change it ? but on the other hand, what if it works better for you ?. I think that the only way to know is to cut in half a clump, store half of it using the traditional method and do the experiment with the other half and see what happens. In the worst case scenario, that the saran method resulted in rotten tubers or tuber did not produce a plant, at least you didn´t screw up an entire clump, you´ve still got half of it.

What I don´t like about the saran method is that it implies lifting the tuber, removing the roots and keeping only the tubers, then WASHING the tubers to remove the soil, then allow them to dry, then dividing and in case that everything goes fine you end up with a bunch of plants. A little bit risky for my taste considering that I´ve been doing it my way for years and it has always worked.

Here´s something I found:

Dividing.-

Dahlia tuberous roots should be divided before they are planted in the spring. The best time to divide is after the eyes have sprouted and the new growth is no more than an inch in length. The new shoots are tender and easily broken, so handle gently. Cut the clump into individual tuberous roots with a sharp knife. Each tuberous root must have at least one eye (growing point) or sprout to produce a new plant. Eyes are found where the tuberous root and the stalk of last season's plant join. If it is difficult to distinguish the dormant eyes, place clumps in a warm moist place for several weeks or plant in shallow trays to promote sprouting. Cut surfaces should be allowed to dry for several days or dusted with captan or sulfur before planting.

Storage.-

Dahlias are hardy to USDA Zone 8 where they can be cut back and left in the ground to overwinter. In Zone 7b, dahlias sometimes overwinter in the ground depending on soil drainage and severity of the winter. It is recommended the tuberous roots be lifted and stored during the winter. After a killing frost, cut the foliage back 2 to 4 inches above the ground. Lift each clump separately with a spading fork. To avoid spearing tuberous roots, begin digging a foot away from the center of the plant. Gently brush soil off the clump of tuberous roots. Spread the clumps in a well-ventilated, shaded area to cure for a few days. Do not leave the tubers in full sun. Dust injured portions with sulfur to inhibit diseases. Pack each clump upside down in a ventilated box or basket using slightly damp vermiculite, perlite, or peat moss to cover the clumps. During the winter, the tuberous roots should be stored between 35 and 50 oF and should not be exposed to hot or cold drafts or damp or very dry conditions. If the tuberous roots begin to shrivel during the winter, sprinkle lightly with water.

Here´s something more I found:

http://www.dahlias.net/dahwebpg/TuberStor/TuberStor1.htm

In those pages they store them in vermiculite, the difference would be that instead of storing them in vermiculite you wrap the tuber in saran.

Thnaks for the info. I am still digging and dividing, use suran on some and gallon bags on some. We dig here in Oct or Nov and plant in late April or mid May depending on the weather.

Diane, just to clarify; every tuber DOES need an eye to have a chance at producing a plant next year. You see the eyes at the time of fall division. (see the multi photo posts on this forum about division or finding eyes) Or you may not see them, but suspect a place on the stem end of the tuber that MAY produce an eye in warmer weather. They may not. There are plenty of tubers that are broken, damaged, or eyeless that get thrown away when cutting up a clump.

Raul had good advice, just try a portion in Saran/plastic wrap and store the others as you have before. See how it goes. You don't need to let them dry out too much, just dry to the touch will do it, that applies to skins and cut edges. The big advantage to plastic wrap is space saving if one has a lot of dahlias, let alone the success rate.
Hope that helps.

To re-emphasize: the tubers MUST have an eye