The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. 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 Elizabeth City should be reviewed to estimate when it's possible 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 are not cold tolerant which tells us that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Elizabeth City 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 fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your dahlia indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Elizabeth City. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Elizabeth City is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Elizabeth City it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to cover your dahlia in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Elizabeth City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Elizabeth City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Elizabeth City.