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.

A common way of figuring out when it's the best time to plant dahlia is to use the USDA zone info for Malibu.

Planting Calendar for Dahlia

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

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

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Malibu 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Malibu. You should expect an average low temperature of 35°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Malibu is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Malibu you get surprised by a frost after January 31 so always be ready to cover your dahlia if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Malibu

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 Malibu

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