One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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 earliest that you can plant dahlias in Los Banos should be determined by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Dahlias

Frost tolerance for dahlias:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

You really shouldn't plant dahlias until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant dahlias in Los Banos 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. If you wait any later than that and your dahlias may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your dahlias indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Los Banos. You can expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Los Banos is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Los Banos you get a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your dahlias in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Los Banos

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Los Banos

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Los Banos.