One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Clarion it's possible to figure out when it's a good idea to plant dahlias.

Planting Calendar for Dahlias

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

It's a bad idea to plant dahlias until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant dahlias in Clarion 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. Starting your dahlias indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Clarion the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Clarion may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Clarion you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your dahlias in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Clarion

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Clarion

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