Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant dahlia is to refer to the USDA zone info for Erlanger.

Planting Calendar for Dahlia

Frost tolerance for dahlia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

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

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Erlanger 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 dahlia and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your dahlia may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your dahlia indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Erlanger. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Erlanger may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Erlanger there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your dahlia if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Erlanger

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 Erlanger

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