I looked at vendor lists with no luck finding any in Texas. No dahlia associations, either. I know folk grow them down there, but the heat makes it tough.

Perhaps you could have a vendor mail tubers there in 2.5 weeks so you could carry it home on the plane? I've had things shipped to hotels before, but you have to stay on top of everything with multiple phone calls to minimize problems.

Or you could just have varieties shipped a bit later in the year when things start warming up...

Here is a link that might be useful: Dahlia vendors, varieties, and growing articles

I know Home Depot and Lowes carry dahlia tubers. If you have a Costco card, Costco also carries dahlias at a great price.

I just talked to a small dahlia vendor about shipping in cold weather, and they said they're shipping dahlias to Alaska end of March, not anticipating any problems.

Another large dahlia vendor I called about delaying my March 3rd order due to below zero temps said that their peat-moss packing keeps them from freezing, and out of thousands sent last year during the cold months, only one grower called for replacements because of frozen tubers. That vendor replaced at no charge, so it's worth a shot if you want better choices.