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 Margate you can estimate when to plant dahlia by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Dahlia

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

Dahlia require warm weather which means that it is important to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Margate 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 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. If you are starting your dahlia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on January 31 in Margate. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 35°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Margate is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Margate you get a frost after January 31 be ready to protect your dahlia in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Margate

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in Margate

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