One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your 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 way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant dahlias is to check out the USDA zone info for Aurora.

Planting Calendar for Dahlias

Frost tolerance for dahlias:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

You can not plant dahlias until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant dahlias in Aurora 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. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your dahlias indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Aurora. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Aurora is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Aurora you get a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your dahlias if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Aurora

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Aurora

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