Grew dahlias for the first time this year after my neighbor gave me a handful of tubers she had extra of in spring. Planted six varieties, mostly dinnerplate types and a couple of ball dahlias, and honestly the whole season went better than I expected for a total beginner. CafƩ au Lait ended up being the showstopper, bigger blooms than I thought were even possible from something I put in the ground myself.
Now that we're getting close to the first frost here, I'm staring down the part everyone warns you about: digging and storing the tubers over winter. I've read through a bunch of old threads and everyone seems to swear by a different method. Some people wash everything and dry for a day before boxing them in vermiculite, others don't wash at all and just knock the dirt off and store in peat moss, and I've seen a couple people use plain paper bags in a cardboard box like they're storing onions.
My basement stays around 45 to 50 degrees most of the winter and isn't too damp, so I'm hoping that's decent enough for storage without a fridge setup. Mostly worried about rot since I've heard that's what kills most people's tubers, not the cold itself. If anyone has a method that's worked for them for multiple seasons in a similar climate, I'd love to hear specifics on what you pack them in and how often you check on them. Don't want to lose CafƩ au Lait after one good season.