One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

One way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant dahlia is to refer to the USDA zone info for Ilion.

Planting Calendar for Dahlia

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

Dahlia are not cold tolerant which tells us that it is important to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Ilion 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your dahlia may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your dahlia indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Ilion. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Ilion is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Ilion you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your dahlia in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Ilion

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Ilion

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