Where did i go wrong????!!

I have (had) a beautiful dahlia last year. I took advice about overwintering it in the shed.
I cleaned it of all earth, dried it and then covered it in vermiculite - storing it in a tescos bag which had an opening at the top.
I went to plant it yesterday and most of the tubers were yugh - wet and useless.
Should i have used a Waitrose bag???
Actually there were a couple of shoots so all is not lost.
Is there something i did wrong with my storage plan?
Feeling Grim!!!

 

Maybe a paper bag? But had similar problem with lily bulbs. Only four survived out of 12. And they were in a paper bag!!!!!

 

I thought that might the answer - try again this autumn i think
Thanks

 

Personally I wouldn't bother washing the earth off next time. A load of hassle, and possibly encourages rot. Unwashed spuds store much better than washed ones, so maybe dahlias are the same.

Then I would just shove them in a box au naturel with some barely damp compost and hope for the best.

For a low-effort (but higher-risk) alternative just leave them in the ground under a pile of mulch (also known as garden refuse) and keep your fingers crossed next spring. You'll probably be lucky 60% of the time. As you've found, keeping them in the shed isn't 100% certain so there's not much to lose.

 

Anything in plastic will not "breathe" I personally plant them deep and cover with mulch and let them take their chance

 

I was about to say the same Pamsdish. Once in the ground I don't dig anything up. My own gardening rule, if it can't survive in the ground all year round it shouldn't be there in the first place. May be that's harsh, but it works.

 

Thats 3 of us using it then

 

Can we all share then?

 

Yes, I like that rule and I'm going to adopt it as a guiding principle in my own garden. Thank you, green-fingered ones!!