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.

In West Chester you can figure out when to plant dahlias by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Dahlias

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

Since dahlias do not do well in cold weather it's important to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dahlias in West Chester 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. If you are starting your dahlias indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in West Chester. You can expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for West Chester is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in West Chester you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your dahlias in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for West Chester

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 Low	0°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 West Chester

You may be interested in your other planting guides for West Chester.