One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to figure out when it's the best time to plant dahlias by referring to the USDA zone info for Morro Bay.

Planting Calendar for Dahlias

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

Since dahlias are not cold tolerant it is important to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Morro Bay. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Morro Bay is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Morro Bay you get a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your dahlias in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Morro Bay

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 Morro Bay

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Morro Bay.