Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant dahlias is to check out the USDA zone info for West Long Branch.

Planting Calendar for Dahlias

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

Dahlias are not cold tolerant which means that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dahlias in West Long Branch 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 really do well. Starting your dahlias indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in West Long Branch. You can expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for West Long Branch is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in West Long Branch you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your dahlias in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for West Long Branch

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 West Long Branch

You may be interested in your other planting guides for West Long Branch.