One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Baxter it's a good idea to estimate when it's the best time to plant dahlias.

Planting Calendar for Dahlias

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant dahlias until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant dahlias in Baxter 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 dahlias and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your dahlias may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your dahlias indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Baxter the average date of last frost happens on May 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -35°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Baxter may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Baxter you get surprised by a frost after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your dahlias in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Baxter

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-35°F
Highest Expected Low	-30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -30°F.

Plants to Grow in Baxter

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