One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant dahlias is to examine the USDA zone info for Agawam.

Planting Calendar for Dahlias

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

Since dahlias require warm weather you must wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dahlias in Agawam 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. If you are starting your dahlias indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Agawam. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Agawam is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Agawam you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your dahlias in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Agawam

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 Agawam

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