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.

You should be able to estimate when to plant dahlia by looking at the USDA zone info for Valparaiso.

Planting Calendar for Dahlia

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

Since dahlia are not cold tolerant it's important to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Valparaiso 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 dahlia and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your dahlia may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your dahlia 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 Valparaiso. You should expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Valparaiso is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Valparaiso you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so always be ready to cover your dahlia if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Valparaiso

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 Valparaiso

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