When to Plant Dahlia in Menlo Park, CA

One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant dahlia in Menlo Park should be estimated by referring to the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Dahlia

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

Dahlia require warm weather which means that it is important to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant dahlia
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant dahlia
Probably not a good time to plant dahlia

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Menlo Park 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 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

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Menlo Park. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Menlo Park is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Menlo Park there is a last frost after February 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your dahlia if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Menlo Park

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 Low25°F
Highest Expected Low30°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 Menlo Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Menlo Park.