Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Port Clinton you should be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant dahlia.

Planting Calendar for Dahlia

Frost tolerance for dahlia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

You can not plant dahlia until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Port Clinton 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. If you are starting your dahlia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Port Clinton. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Port Clinton and it is different every year. Half of the time in Port Clinton you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your dahlia if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Port Clinton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Port Clinton

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Port Clinton.