Dahlia support systems

I know there was a thread talking about staking dahlias... but I can't find it now! Anyway, I ran across this site. What do you think of this method? Not sure it would be tall enough... certainly looks easier than tying everything to rebar though.

http://www.dahlias.net/dahwebpg/Support/NoStake.htm

Also, if you want some nice garden browsing (I'm turning green), I got there from here:

http://www.dahlias.net/dahwebpg/Gardens/Gardens.htm

Here's one stake thread (from the 'sticky' at the top of the page)
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/559258/

Re the tomato cages- they work great. I was the biggest doubter until I saw for myself that they support a 4-5 foot dahlia very nicely. Out here, I can't find bargain prices like Willow quoted, but if you could I wouldn't hesitate to try them. A bolt cutter works well on cutting off the 'legs' from which to make ring stakes. Very reusable although storage space if they don't stack well might be an issue.

Thanks Poochella, knew I had seen that somewhere! I was just browsing the topics to find it, so that's why I didn't!

So, you've tried the tomato cages since those posts and liked them? I'll have to shop around and see what kind of prices I can find here.

Also, I think some of mine are over 5', but if I dig and divide them, will the be smaller the next year?

I only have about 5 tomato cages, but used them all. I like rebar (except for painting it,) for ease of storage, then the T fence posts for durability and then wood stakes because they're cheap. Anything goes here. We had a bird bath break off a metal stand/post and I used that immediately for a 3 ft dahlia :)

Depending on shade vs sun, I suspect your 5 ft dahlia is programmed to be a 5 ft dahlia. The only way to really keep them shorter is to cut them off mid season, sacrificing flowers in the process. Digging and dividing will 1) give you more tubers to plant, trade, or sell and 2) give you a healthier plant with better flowers the next year.

I like 5' x 5/8" rebar for stakes, I tie the plants up with baling twine. I used to use cedar and red wood stakes, but they break off in a high wind if the plants too big, and after a few years they start getting shorter. The fawns love to run in the iron forest, never touched a stake going full speed!

Bambis and dahlias. Cool. Do you get any deer nibbles? They don't seem to bother them here if there is something else to eat.

Cute deer! The gent who cleans our office building speaks primarily Spanish and we've chatted many times over the years. I was trying to describe the animals around our locale during one conversation and couldn't even begin to describe 'deer' in Spanish, having never learned the word. Finally, I came up with "Bambi" And we both had a good chuckle because Bambi, it seems, is a universally understood term. (Benado= deer in spanish btw.)

The benados have never ever so much as nibbled a dahlia in 15 years of growing, even though they are everpresent in the area. Raspberries, sedum, phlox, hosta, yes; dahlias never.

I've always wondered why some say they have trouble with deers. The only one I personally know of is a doe that likes the flowers of a yellow cactus at friend's acreage. She comes in the morning to eat any new blooms from just that one plant and then leaves.

Refined taste, dahlianut. There is nothing like yellow cactus in the morning. I am grateful they leave the plants/flowers alone, but I suppose if the food supply was grim, they would go for dahlias over starvation.