One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant dahlias in Fort Worth can be determined by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Dahlias

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant dahlias until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant dahlias in Fort Worth 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 dahlias and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else 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 the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Fort Worth. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Fort Worth is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Fort Worth you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your dahlias in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Worth

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Fort Worth

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Worth.