One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

You can estimate when it's a good idea to plant dahlia in Smithville 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 probably a bad idea to plant dahlia until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Smithville 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. Any later than that and your dahlia may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your dahlia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Smithville. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Always 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 Smithville and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Smithville it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your dahlia if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Smithville

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 Smithville

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