When to Plant Dahlias in Elizabethtown, PA

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

The first opportunity to plant dahlias in Elizabethtown should be figured out by checking out the USDA zone info.

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Planting Calendar for Dahlias

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

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

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 Elizabethtown 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 fully mature. Starting your dahlias indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Elizabethtown. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Elizabethtown may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Elizabethtown you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your dahlias in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Elizabethtown

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 Low0°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 Elizabethtown

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