One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of getting a good idea when you can plant dahlia is to use the USDA zone info for Richmond Hill.

Planting Calendar for Dahlia

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

Since dahlia do not do well in cold weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Richmond Hill 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. 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 the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Richmond Hill. You can expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Richmond Hill is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Richmond Hill it frosts late in the year after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your dahlia if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Richmond Hill

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 Richmond Hill

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Richmond Hill.