I truly do not understand the logic of storing in pots. I would think that the pots would take up a lot more room than wrapped tubers in a cool spot. However, if it works for you, then all the more power to you.

To answer your question though, if you divide your tubers, and then let them scar a little, add some fungicide ( bulb dust), then it should not hurt them. I would think that the dusting is the key to avoiding the "infecting and rotting" that you are concerned about.

Personally, I would take them out of the pots, divide them now, dust them with the fungicide, wrap them, and store them in a protected and cool spot until spring at which time you could plant them up. I usually start planting mine in early April in small pots so they get a head start for the garden season.

Good luck.

I'm with Jroot. If you go to all the trouble of digging them out of pots, cleaning, dividing and dusting them, why not store them in a means where you can easily check them through the winter for rot? You could certainly try to repot divided tubers but what will you know if they don't send up sprouts in warmer weather? Either you have tubers without eyes, slow tubers, or tubers that rotted. None of which are very satisfying outcomes.

If spring is a frantic time for you, as it is for most gardeners, divide them now and store in bags or plastic wrap. Then you have the advantage of visualizing how they do. It's not that hard to plop a tuber in a pot! It would take seconds at most.

Good luck, no matter which method you choose.

after the first hard freeze.....we let the dahlias sit in ground for a week....then dig them clean them then dry them......we have these bus tubs.(used in some restaurants for cleanup..) that was use to store the dahlias over winter....we buy a huge bag of wood shavings usually used for pet bedding.....place the tubers in tubs then cover with shavings.....then store under the house...(crawl space that was dug deeper for a tonado shelter....works great for the dahlias and others to be stored like cannas..

It is a well-known fact that Dahlia tubers has to be stored in a frost free environment. Has anybody information about the actual temperature, which kills the tubers ?. Rumors says they are able to survive a few degrees of freezing.

They will survive a light frost but deep freezing- no. They also don't like the freezing & thawing cycle that we get here in NW WA as well as being soggy all winter with a couple of frosts inbetween the rains. So even though this warm winter we probably would have been OK to leave them in the ground, we always dig as we never know if we're going to be hit with a week or two of NEaster which freezes ALL of us!

Can you store the divided tubers in a refrigerator? We store a lot of bulbs in an extra frig in our garage. If we can store the tubers in the frig it will be much nicer than taking up room in containers in our small garage. This is my first year with Dahlia's so I am anxious to learn and not damage my beautiful flowers.

I keep mine in a cold cellar which does not freeze. I would not keep mine in the fridge as I have seen what fridges do to my carrots etc. I do NOT want any condensation, or dehydrating going on whatsoever.