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 best time to plant dahlias in Lafayette can be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Dahlias

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

You can not plant dahlias until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant dahlias in Lafayette is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant dahlias and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your dahlias may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your dahlias indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Lafayette. You can expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Lafayette is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Lafayette there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to cover your dahlias in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Lafayette

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Lafayette

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