One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your 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.

You can figure out when to plant dahlias in Chestertown by reviewing 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.

Dahlias do not do well in cold weather which means that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dahlias in Chestertown 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. If you wait any later than that and 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Chestertown. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Chestertown may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Chestertown it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your dahlias if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Chestertown

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

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

Plants to Grow in Chestertown

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