Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Medical Lake it's a good idea to figure out when it's the best time to plant dahlia.

Planting Calendar for Dahlia

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant dahlia until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Medical Lake 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 little bit earlier by starting your dahlia indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Medical Lake. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Medical Lake is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Medical Lake last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your dahlia if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Medical Lake

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°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 -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Medical Lake

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Medical Lake.