One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

It's possible to figure out when it's a good idea to plant dahlia by using the USDA zone info for York.

Planting Calendar for Dahlia

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

Since dahlia require warm weather you really should wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in York 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. 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

The average date of last frost is April 15 in York. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

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

USDA Zone Info for York

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in York

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