When to Plant Dahlias in Charlestown, IN

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Charlestown can be looked at to figure out when it's the best time to plant dahlias.


Planting Calendar for Dahlias

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

Since dahlias require warm weather you really should wait until after the last frost 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 Charlestown 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. Starting your dahlias indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Charlestown. You can expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Charlestown is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Charlestown you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your dahlias in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Charlestown

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-5°F
Highest Expected Low0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Charlestown

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