Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Springfield can be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Dahlia

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

Since dahlia are not cold tolerant you need to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Springfield 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. If you wait any later than that and your dahlia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your dahlia indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Springfield the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Springfield and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Springfield you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your dahlia in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Springfield

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Springfield

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