The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant dahlia in Alcoa can be estimated by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Dahlia

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

It's not a good idea to plant dahlia until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Alcoa 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 fully mature. 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 Alcoa. You should expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Alcoa may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Alcoa it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your dahlia if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Alcoa

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Alcoa

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