One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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 USDA zone info for Gonzales can be reviewed to estimate when it's the best time to plant dahlias.

Planting Calendar for Dahlias

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant dahlias until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant dahlias in Gonzales 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 dahlias and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your dahlias may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your dahlias 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 has passed is on February 15 in Gonzales. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Gonzales is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Gonzales it frosts late in the year after February 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your dahlias if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gonzales

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 Gonzales

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