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

By referring to the USDA zone info for Cookeville you will be able to figure out when it's a good idea to plant dahlia.

Planting Calendar for Dahlia

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

Since dahlia are not cold tolerant you must wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Cookeville 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your dahlia may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your dahlia indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Cookeville. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Cookeville is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Cookeville there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your dahlia in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Cookeville

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 Cookeville

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