One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 USDA zone info for Palm Desert should be looked at to determine when it's a good idea to plant dahlia.

Planting Calendar for Dahlia

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

It's a bad idea to plant dahlia until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Palm Desert 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 fully mature. Starting your dahlia indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Palm Desert the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Palm Desert and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Palm Desert there is a last frost after February 15 so always be ready to cover your dahlia if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Palm Desert

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 Palm Desert

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Palm Desert.