One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

A way of estimating when it's possible to plant dahlia is to examine the USDA zone info for Temple.

Planting Calendar for Dahlia

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

Dahlia are not cold tolerant which tells us that it is important to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Temple 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your dahlia indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Temple. You should expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Temple and it is different every year. Half of the time in Temple last frost occurs after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your dahlia if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Temple

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 Temple

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