One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant gayfeather is to examine the USDA zone info for Port Townsend.

Planting Calendar for Gayfeather

Frost tolerance for gayfeather:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Gayfeather tend to make it in pretty solid cold which means that you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant gayfeather in Port Townsend 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 gayfeather and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your gayfeather may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your gayfeather indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Port Townsend the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Port Townsend and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Port Townsend last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to cover your gayfeather if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Port Townsend

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Port Townsend

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Port Townsend.