One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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 opportunity to plant dahlias in Steger should be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Dahlias

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

Dahlias are not cold tolerant which tells us that it is important to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dahlias in Steger 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 fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your dahlias indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Steger the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Steger and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Steger last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your dahlias in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Steger

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 Steger

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