Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate 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 figuring out when it's possible to plant dahlia is to look at the USDA zone info for Albert Lea.

Planting Calendar for Dahlia

Frost tolerance for dahlia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Dahlia are not cold tolerant which means that you really should wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Albert Lea is May. However, you really should wait until June 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. Starting your dahlia indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Albert Lea the average date of last frost happens on May 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Albert Lea and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Albert Lea you get a frost after May 15 be ready to protect your dahlia in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Albert Lea

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

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

Plants to Grow in Albert Lea

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Albert Lea.