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.

The first chance to plant matricaria in Washington can be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Matricaria

Frost tolerance for matricaria:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Since matricaria are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant matricaria in Washington is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant matricaria and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your matricaria may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your matricaria indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Washington. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Washington and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Washington you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your matricaria in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Washington

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

Plants to Grow in Washington

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