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

It's possible to figure out when it's the best time to plant dahlias by reviewing the USDA zone info for Modesto.

Planting Calendar for Dahlias

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

It's a bad idea to plant dahlias until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant dahlias in Modesto 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 fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your dahlias indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Modesto the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Modesto may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Modesto you get a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your dahlias if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Modesto

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 Modesto

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