When to Plant Dahlias in Bradley, IL

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

In Bradley you can estimate when you can plant dahlias by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Dahlias

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

It's not a good idea to plant dahlias until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant dahlias
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant dahlias
Probably not a good time to plant dahlias

The earliest that you can plant dahlias in Bradley 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. If you wait any later than that and your dahlias may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your dahlias indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Bradley. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Bradley may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Bradley last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your dahlias if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Bradley

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

Plants to Grow in Bradley

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