One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your 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.

You will be able to estimate when to plant dahlia by checking out the USDA zone info for Carteret.

Planting Calendar for Dahlia

Frost tolerance for dahlia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

It's probably not a good idea to plant dahlia until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Carteret 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. 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 is on April 15 in Carteret. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Carteret is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Carteret you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your dahlia if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Carteret

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Carteret

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