One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

It's possible to determine when it's a good idea to plant dahlias by reviewing the USDA zone info for San Clemente.

Planting Calendar for Dahlias

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

Dahlias require warm weather which tells us that it's important to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dahlias in San Clemente 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 dahlias and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your dahlias may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your dahlias indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on January 31 in San Clemente. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for San Clemente may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in San Clemente it frosts late in the year after January 31 so always be ready to protect your dahlias if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for San Clemente

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in San Clemente

You may be interested in your other planting guides for San Clemente.