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

A way of determining when it's possible to plant dahlia is to consult the USDA zone info for Port Allen.

Planting Calendar for Dahlia

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

Dahlia require warm weather which means that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Port Allen 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your dahlia indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in Port Allen. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Port Allen is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Port Allen you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your dahlia in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Port Allen

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Port Allen

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Port Allen.