One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

A common way of getting a good idea when to plant dahlia is to use the USDA zone info for Monroe.

Planting Calendar for Dahlia

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant dahlia until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Monroe 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your dahlia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your dahlia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Monroe. You can expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Monroe may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Monroe you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your dahlia in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Monroe

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°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 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Monroe

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