One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Lancaster should be reffered to in order to determine when to plant dahlia.

Planting Calendar for Dahlia

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

You should not plant dahlia until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Lancaster 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. Starting your dahlia indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Lancaster. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Lancaster is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Lancaster you get a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your dahlia if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lancaster

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 Lancaster

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