One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Loves Park you can determine when it's the best time to plant dahlias by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Dahlias

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

You really shouldn't plant dahlias until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant dahlias in Loves Park 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. If you are starting your dahlias indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Loves Park and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Loves Park last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your dahlias if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Loves Park

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 Loves Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Loves Park.