One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

A common way of determining when it's possible to plant dahlia is to use the USDA zone info for Massena.

Planting Calendar for Dahlia

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

You can not plant dahlia until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Massena is May. However, you really should wait until June 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your dahlia indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on May 15 in Massena. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Massena and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Massena you get a frost after May 15 be ready to cover your dahlia if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Massena

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Massena

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