One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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 Port Clinton you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant dahlias by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Dahlias

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

Dahlias are not cold tolerant which means that it's important to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dahlias 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 dahlias and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your dahlias may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your dahlias indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Port Clinton. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Port Clinton may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Port Clinton there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your dahlias if you have one of those late frosts.

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.