When to Plant Dahlias in Palos Heights, IL

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

The first chance to plant dahlias in Palos Heights can be determined by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Dahlias

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

Since dahlias do not do well in cold weather you really should wait until 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 Palos Heights 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. If you are starting your dahlias indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Palos Heights is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Palos Heights there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your dahlias if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Palos Heights

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 Palos Heights

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Palos Heights.