One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Rockingham you will be able to figure out when to plant dahlias.

Planting Calendar for Dahlias

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

You really shouldn't plant dahlias until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant dahlias in Rockingham 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. Any later than that and your dahlias may not have a chance to fully mature. 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 March 15 in Rockingham. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Rockingham and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Rockingham last frost occurs after March 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your dahlias if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rockingham

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 Rockingham

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