When did you plant them exactly, and how tall do you expect them to get? Dahlias can range from the little tiny foot tall varieties to towering giants 6+ft high.

Welcome to the great NW!

Hi Poochella,
I got distracted by making a living. I had to teach some classes in August and preparing and traveling used up the month. Fortunately, in the meantime, my dahlias kept on growing. Even the ones I stupidly planted on the NE side of the garage.

None are the "towering giants" but doing well enough to give me some lovely blooms and make me want to buy more next spring.

Where are you in WA? How close is your climate to Vernonia? We had some very cold days that included about 6" of snow in early December. I have a water garden in a tub and there was at least 4" of solid ice on top of it. I'm told it was a fairly typical winter.

Hi, well work certainly puts a crimp on gardening doesn't it? If you've got blooms then you are a success, no matter the height. 4 ft is average for the taller varieties, I guess.
I am east of suburban Seattle and we are also prone to freeze, snow, or prolonged cold spells due to elevation. Lots and lots of winter rain as well. I don't know Veronia specifically, or much else about OR climates, but if your water froze 4 inches thick, it sounds like you would be wise to plan to dig up your dahlias after a freeze. Store them (see any number of threads here on 'how to') and enjoy them all over next year perhaps aiming for a southern exposure or as much sun as possible.

How to dig link below and other great info at that website.

Here is a link that might be useful: dahlias.net