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

The best time to plant dahlias in Dayton can be estimated by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Dahlias

Frost tolerance for dahlias:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

You should not plant dahlias until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant dahlias in Dayton is March. However, you really should wait until April 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. Any later than that and your dahlias may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your dahlias indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in Dayton. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Dayton is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Dayton it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to cover your dahlias in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Dayton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Dayton

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