The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of making a decision about when it's the best time to plant dahlias is to look at the USDA zone info for Lockhart.

Planting Calendar for Dahlias

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

Since dahlias require warm weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dahlias in Lockhart 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. If you wait any later than that and your dahlias may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your dahlias indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Lockhart the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Lockhart is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Lockhart it frosts late in the year after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your dahlias in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Lockhart

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 Lockhart

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