I've seen some cool ideas already by haunting this forum but was wondering how many methods there are out there for staking dahlias. I'm new to dahlias--the two I planted this spring (2 bagged tubers in the same package from Walmart) are lying on the ground, still blooming now. I don't want that for next year so I'm trying to decide what's going to give me the best chance of success.

I've seen a post about using tomato cages on the dahlia forum. I think the gardener actually cut them down to use them but I'm wondering if a whole cage could be used for a tall dahlia and if even a whole cage would be tall enough. I'm thinking of clipping the top couple of rings to spread them out--make them pretty much the same circumference up and down. I'm wondering if the stakes on a tomato cage will go down far enough in my raised planting area, though, to keep the dahlia upright. Would I be better off using the pretty copper pipe with a drawer pull finial? Or rebar with eye protection on top? And how do you estimate how tall your stake should be if you don't use something pretty like the finial and want the stake to be covered by the foliage but still be tall enough for adequate support? What's the best thing you've found to attach your dahlia to the stake safely? I'm sure there are pros and cons for each method, will you more experienced dahlia growers share that insight with a newbie enthusiast, please?