When to Plant Dahlias in Oak Lawn, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your 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.

You can estimate when it's the best time to plant dahlias in Oak Lawn 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 has passed.

Dahlias require warm weather which tells us that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

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 Oak Lawn 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your dahlias may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your dahlias indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Oak Lawn. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Oak Lawn is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Oak Lawn it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your dahlias in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Oak Lawn

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 Oak Lawn

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Oak Lawn.