Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate 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.

One way of figuring out when you can plant gayfeather is to refer to the USDA zone info for Middleton.

Planting Calendar for Gayfeather

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

Since gayfeather are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them much earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant gayfeather in Middleton 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. If you wait any later than that and your gayfeather may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your gayfeather indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Middleton. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Middleton is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Middleton it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your gayfeather in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Middleton

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 Middleton

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