When to Plant Dahlia in Shippensburg, PA

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Shippensburg can be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Dahlia

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

Since dahlia require warm weather you really should wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Shippensburg 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. Starting your dahlia 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 Shippensburg. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Shippensburg and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Shippensburg it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your dahlia in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Shippensburg

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 Shippensburg

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