One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to figure out when it's the best time to plant dahlias by checking out the USDA zone info for Columbia City.

Planting Calendar for Dahlias

Frost tolerance for dahlias:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since dahlias require warm weather it's important to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dahlias in Columbia City 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 dahlias and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your dahlias may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your dahlias indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Columbia City. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Columbia City is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Columbia City you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your dahlias if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Columbia City

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 Columbia City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Columbia City.