One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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 earliest that you can plant dahlia in Punta Gorda can be determined by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Dahlia

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

Since dahlia are not cold tolerant you must wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Punta Gorda 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. Starting your dahlia indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on January 31 in Punta Gorda. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Punta Gorda is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Punta Gorda there is a last frost after January 31 so be sure to be ready to protect your dahlia in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Punta Gorda

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 Punta Gorda

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Punta Gorda.