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

In Sierra Madre you can determine when you can plant dahlias by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Dahlias

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

Dahlias are not cold tolerant which means that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dahlias in Sierra Madre 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your dahlias may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your dahlias indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Sierra Madre. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Sierra Madre and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Sierra Madre you get a frost after January 31 so just be sure to be ready to protect your dahlias in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Sierra Madre

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 Sierra Madre

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Sierra Madre.