The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant dahlia in Carlinville can be determined by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Dahlia

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

You should not plant dahlia until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Carlinville 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your dahlia indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Carlinville. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Carlinville is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Carlinville you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your dahlia in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Carlinville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Carlinville

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