When to Plant Dahlia in Dolton, IL

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

The first opportunity to plant dahlia in Dolton can be figured out by referring to 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.

It's probably a bad idea to plant dahlia until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

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

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Dolton 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. If you wait any later than that and your dahlia may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your dahlia indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Dolton. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Dolton may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Dolton you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your dahlia if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Dolton

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 Dolton

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