When to Plant Dahlia in West Chicago, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can estimate when to plant dahlia in West Chicago by referring to the USDA zone info.

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Planting Calendar for Dahlia

Frost tolerance for dahlia: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After all chance of frost has passed.

It's not a good idea to plant dahlia until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant dahlia
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant dahlia
Probably not a good time to plant dahlia

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in West Chicago is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant dahlia and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your dahlia may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your dahlia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in West Chicago. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for West Chicago is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in West Chicago you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your dahlia if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for West Chicago

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-15°F
Highest Expected Low-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in West Chicago

You may be interested in your other planting guides for West Chicago.