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 first chance to plant dahlias in Westminster can be determined by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Dahlias

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

Since dahlias require warm weather it is necessary to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dahlias in Westminster is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant dahlias and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your dahlias may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your dahlias indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Westminster. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Westminster is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Westminster you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your dahlias if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Westminster

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Westminster

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