One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant dahlia in Smithfield can be figured out by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Dahlia

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

It's not a good idea to plant dahlia until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Smithfield 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your dahlia may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your dahlia indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Always 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 Smithfield and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Smithfield there is a last frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your dahlia in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Smithfield

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 Smithfield

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