One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

A way of determining when you can plant dahlia is to use the USDA zone info for Bluefield.

Planting Calendar for Dahlia

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

Dahlia are not cold tolerant which means that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Bluefield 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 fully mature. 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 April 15 in Bluefield. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind 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 Bluefield and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Bluefield you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your dahlia if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bluefield

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Bluefield

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