Thank you, Lin! That makes me fee la little better. No I did not divide them. I just dug the entire tuber clump, washed it, dried it. They are now in a box with wood chips. I am hoping I get it right this year.

Has anyone stored tubers in plastic buckets filled with peat moss or vermiculite? Lid loosely placed on. I don't have any cardboard boxes handy. Will be trying plastic wrap method too. Trying to increase my odds! Thank you.

Rachel

Some serious grower use vermiculite, as long as no tuber dies in it over winter you can reuse it.

and in case that rot starts it seems to spread slower in the mineral stuff.

the bucket thing could work, it really depends on your "climate", humidity, temperature etc.

and eith the wrapping I heard either glowing succes stories or slimy clumps of falure, nothing in between....

Thank you! I'm trying two storage techniques. Keeping fingers crossed but I suspect I'll be treating them as annuals and buying a few every season.

I stored some dahlia tubers in an area that was too warm and they have broken dormancy too early. What should I do? I'm also in Maine, and if I pot them up, they can't go outdoors until June.

annpat, that is rough! You could do what I do with cannas. On April 1 I uncover (if stored in their own pot) or pot up the rhizomes. Then I put them on a rolling platform or wagon in the garage. During the day, I roll them outside and water them. At the end of the day, I roll them back into the garage. You would have a huge headstart when May came around.

"what should I do?"

When tubers start sprouting before its time to plant, squeeze the back end of the tubers to check for rot. If they're 'squishy,' then slice off the rot and dip the cleaned end with the sprout in cinnamon.

If they're firm & plump OR mostly firm & wrinkly, don't sweat the sprouts. You can pinch them off, leaving a little stub on the tuber, or just let it go and take off any lanky growth when you plant them out. Definitely remove any growth over 2 inches when you plant out, as the tuber will push out a stronger sprout that will provide the summer plant with a good base.

Make a cutting:
You can take that extra pinched-off sprout and stick the bottom side in a pot, water really well, then stick a baggie over the top to create a mini-greenhouse. In a couple weeks, it should root, and in a couple more weeks, the top should be sprouting. Cuttings are a LOT of fun!

Cheers!
-CiCi