Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You will be able to figure out when it's the best time to plant dahlia by looking at the USDA zone info for Smyrna.

Planting Calendar for Dahlia

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

Since dahlia do not do well in cold weather you really should wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Smyrna 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 fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your dahlia indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Smyrna the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Smyrna and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Smyrna you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your dahlia if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Smyrna

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Smyrna

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