One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

The first opportunity to plant astilbe in West Springfield can be estimated by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Astilbe

Frost tolerance for astilbe:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Astilbe are barely cold tolerant which means that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant astilbe in West Springfield is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant astilbe and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your astilbe may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your astilbe indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In West Springfield the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for West Springfield is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in West Springfield you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your astilbe if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for West Springfield

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°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 -5°F.

Plants to Grow in West Springfield

You may be interested in your other planting guides for West Springfield.