The plan is to heavily mound it with manure. Apparently this is a thing people in zone 7ish bits of England do, sometimes adding a large pot weighed down with bricks for good measure. According to reports the lighter coloured Dahlias often don't pull through but the darker ones do! I've got four:
Dark pink
Orange
Blush
Coral mix
What do you mean by grow themselves to death Arlene? I see you are zone 7 too. Do you leave yours in?
Hiyam
