One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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 USDA zone info for Kalamazoo should be reffered to in order to determine when it's the best time to plant dahlia.

Planting Calendar for Dahlia

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

Dahlia do not do well in cold weather which means that it is important to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Kalamazoo 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your dahlia may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your dahlia indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Kalamazoo. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Kalamazoo and it is different every year. Half of the time in Kalamazoo you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your dahlia if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Kalamazoo

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 Kalamazoo

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