Dahlia Tubers Ready for Storing

The soil on the inverted dahlia tubers in the garage has now dried sufficiently to turn them right-way-up. The tubers are not soft but are not nearly as brittle and delicate as they were - drying has made them leathery, ideal for resisting light frosts. I will not cover them until harsh frosts are forecast. This will help keep the necks (the part where the stem meets the tuber) dry and rot-free.

TUBERS ARE NOW DORMANT
This is the only washed tuber on its way to the fridge (it hasn't got there yet). It's not my day for photographs, but the small reddish dots on the neck (roughly in the centre of picture) are the dormant axillary buds from which next year's new growth will emerge. The fact they are not developing shows that the tuber is dormant, probably because of low temperatures and loss of foliage.