When to Plant Dahlias in Waterville, OH

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's possible to estimate when it's a good idea to plant dahlias by checking out the USDA zone info for Waterville.


Planting Calendar for Dahlias

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

Since dahlias require warm weather you need to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant dahlias
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant dahlias
Probably not a good time to plant dahlias

The earliest that you can plant dahlias in Waterville 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 fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your dahlias indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Waterville. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Waterville may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Waterville it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your dahlias in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Waterville

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 Waterville

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