One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

It's a good idea to determine when you can plant dahlia by referring to the USDA zone info for Winter Garden.

Planting Calendar for Dahlia

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

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

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Winter Garden is March. However, you really should wait until April 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Winter Garden. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Winter Garden and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Winter Garden there is a last frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your dahlia if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Winter Garden

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Winter Garden

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Winter Garden.