One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

The earliest that you can plant dahlias in South River can be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.

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 the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant dahlias in South River 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. Starting your dahlias indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in South River. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for South River may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in South River you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your dahlias if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for South River

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 South River

You may be interested in your other planting guides for South River.