When to Plant Dahlias in Tarentum, PA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. 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 Tarentum you will be able to estimate when to plant dahlias.


Planting Calendar for Dahlias

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

It's probably not a good idea to 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 Tarentum 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 couple of weeks earlier by starting your dahlias indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Tarentum. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Tarentum and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Tarentum there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your dahlias if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Tarentum

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 Tarentum

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