Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant dahlias is to use the USDA zone info for Brownsville.

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 you have to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dahlias in Brownsville is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant dahlias and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your dahlias may not have a chance to grow to maturity. 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

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Brownsville. You should expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Brownsville may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Brownsville you get a frost after January 31 be ready to cover your dahlias if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Brownsville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Brownsville

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