Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Tumwater 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 when the weather gets warmer.

It's a bad idea to plant dahlia until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant dahlia in Tumwater 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. If you wait any later than that and your dahlia may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your dahlia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Tumwater the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Tumwater may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Tumwater you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your dahlia if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Tumwater

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 Tumwater

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