One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

In Pacific you can determine when it's a good idea to plant dahlia by referring to 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 a bad idea to plant dahlia until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Pacific 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 fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your dahlia indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on March 15 in Pacific. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Pacific is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Pacific last frost occurs after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your dahlia if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Pacific

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 Pacific

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