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

In Jackson you can estimate when it's the best time to plant dahlias by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Dahlias

Frost tolerance for dahlias:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Dahlias do not do well in cold weather which means that it is important to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dahlias in Jackson 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 dahlias and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your dahlias may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your dahlias indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Jackson the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Jackson is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Jackson it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your dahlias in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Jackson

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Jackson

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