Put them in the basement or garage to keep cool without freezing. A little moisture is to be expected in a plastic bag but, it shouldn't hurt the bulbs. I too just got some small flower pot Dahlia Bulbs and just threw them on a shelf in the greenhouse down close to the ground where it's a bit cooler. I'll pot mine up in a few weeks to get a headstart on spring but,the pot probably won't go outside til after April 15th.

for caladiums, i use those orange mesh bags that citrus from the grocery store comes in. i put the wood shavings in there, too, and hang them in my utility room from a cabinet doorknob. it is dark in this room and generally cooler than the rest of the house.
i suspect it would also work for dahlias to treat them this way.
just curious but do you have to bring the dahlia tubers inside where you live? when i lived in northern alabama (similar zone), we had those giant dinner plate dahlias by the back door and never brought them inside.

I planted my first Dahlia's last Spring...and left them in the ground, so it's a wait and see if any survive...Some of those were only suppose to get 36 inches high...they grew taller than me! (5'4")...So you might not should believe everything we read.ha. I don't have a basement and the utility room is heated.

Basement or garage is fine. I leave my dahlia's in the ground. They have been returning each year for the last 4 or 5 years. I live in the North Atlanta suburbs.

When we lived up north (south of Boston) I would leave them layered between newspaper in a cardboard box in the coldest part of the garage.

I'm glad to hear that others did not store their dahlias. I had every intention to, but I got lazy and decided to experiment with leaving them in the ground.
I've been told by the local Dahlia society that they are ok to leave in the ground, but then some master gardeners told me otherwise. I plan to go to the auction in the spring, so if they don't come back, I can always get more.

This will be the third winter my Dahlias have been in the ground, and they have come back perfectly the past two, so I foresee minimal problems if you are the same or warmer than here (just north of Atlanta). When I lived in PA I did have to dig them up. I also have amaryllis/hippeastrum in the ground for 5 years already without problems here.

Bruce

You can leave them in the ground and they will come back fine.I was given a dahlia tuber in 1965 by my step mom.I have dug it up and moved it the 3 times I have moved since then and it is still coming up blooming every yr.These last 3 yrs since moving here,(In north Ga.)I have added dozens and just bought about a dozen more.Now caladiums are another story,sometimes they come back,sometimes they don't.
moonphase