One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

It's a good idea to figure out when to plant dahlias by referring to the USDA zone info for Chesterfield.

Planting Calendar for Dahlias

Frost tolerance for dahlias:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Dahlias require warm weather which tells us that you need to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dahlias in Chesterfield 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 grow to maturity. Starting your dahlias indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Chesterfield. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Chesterfield is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Chesterfield it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your dahlias in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Chesterfield

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 Chesterfield

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