One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Smiths Station you should be able to determine when it's the best time 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.

Since dahlia are not cold tolerant it is important to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Smiths Station 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 fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your dahlia indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Smiths Station. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Smiths Station is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Smiths Station it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to protect your dahlia in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Smiths Station

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

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

Plants to Grow in Smiths Station

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Smiths Station.