One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

In Reno you can estimate when it's possible to plant dahlia by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Dahlia

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

You really shouldn't plant dahlia until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Reno 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 really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your dahlia indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Reno the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Reno is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Reno you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your dahlia if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Reno

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 Reno

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