Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's possible to determine when to plant dahlia by checking out the USDA zone info for Carthage.

Planting Calendar for Dahlia

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

Since dahlia are not cold tolerant you really should wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Carthage 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 fully mature. 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 March 15 in Carthage. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Carthage may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Carthage it frosts late in the year after March 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your dahlia in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Carthage

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Carthage

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