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 best time to plant dahlias in Charles City can be determined by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Dahlias

Frost tolerance for dahlias:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

It's not a good idea to plant dahlias until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant dahlias in Charles City 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 dahlias and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your dahlias may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your dahlias indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Charles City. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Charles City and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Charles City you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your dahlias in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Charles City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Charles City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Charles City.