One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

A common way of determining when you can plant dahlias is to examine the USDA zone info for Fort Walton Beach.

Planting Calendar for Dahlias

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

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

The earliest that you can plant dahlias in Fort Walton Beach 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. If you wait any later than that and your dahlias may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your dahlias indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Fort Walton Beach. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Fort Walton Beach may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Fort Walton Beach you get a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your dahlias in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Walton Beach

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Fort Walton Beach

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Walton Beach.