Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of determining when it's possible to plant dahlias is to examine the USDA zone info for Oak Island.

Planting Calendar for Dahlias

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

Since dahlias are not cold tolerant it's necessary to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dahlias in Oak Island 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. If you are starting your dahlias indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on March 15 in Oak Island. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Oak Island may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Oak Island it frosts late in the year after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your dahlias if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Oak Island

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 Oak Island

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Oak Island.