One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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 USDA zone info for Anchorage should be read to figure out when it's a good idea to plant asters.

Planting Calendar for Asters

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

You can plant asters a bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant asters in Anchorage 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 asters and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your asters may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your asters indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on May 15 in Anchorage. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Anchorage is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Anchorage there is a last frost after May 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your asters in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Anchorage

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Anchorage

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