One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

The first opportunity to plant dahlia in Peoria should be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Dahlia

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

Since dahlia are not cold tolerant it is necessary to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

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

The last month that you can plant dahlia and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your dahlia may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your dahlia indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on February 15 in Peoria. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Peoria is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Peoria there is a last frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your dahlia in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Peoria

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Peoria

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Peoria.