One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of determining when it's possible to plant dahlias is to refer to the USDA zone info for Platteville.

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 tells us that it's important to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dahlias in Platteville 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. If you wait any later than that and your dahlias may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your dahlias indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Platteville. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Platteville is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Platteville there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your dahlias in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Platteville

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 Platteville

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