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.

In Mason you can determine when it's a good idea to plant schizanthus by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Schizanthus

Frost tolerance for schizanthus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

It's probably not a good idea to plant schizanthus until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant schizanthus in Mason 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 schizanthus and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your schizanthus may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your schizanthus indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Mason and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Mason last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your schizanthus if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mason

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 Mason

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