One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

A way of making a decision about when it's the best time to plant dahlia is to refer to the USDA zone info for Ocean City.

Planting Calendar for Dahlia

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

Dahlia are not cold tolerant which tells us that it's important to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Ocean City 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 really do well. Starting your dahlia indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Ocean City the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Ocean City is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Ocean City you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your dahlia if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Ocean City

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 Ocean City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Ocean City.