Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Bay Minette can be reffered to in order to estimate when to plant dahlia.

Planting Calendar for Dahlia

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

You should not plant dahlia until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Bay Minette 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 grow to maturity. Starting your dahlia indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Bay Minette the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Bay Minette and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Bay Minette it frosts late in the year after March 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your dahlia in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bay Minette

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Bay Minette

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Bay Minette.