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

One way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant dahlia is to consult the USDA zone info for Coronado.

Planting Calendar for Dahlia

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

You really shouldn't plant dahlia until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Coronado is February. However, you really should wait until March 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your dahlia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. 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 January 31 in Coronado. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 35°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Coronado is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Coronado there is a last frost after January 31 be ready to cover your dahlia in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Coronado

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in Coronado

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