Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant flowering maple in Helena can be estimated by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Flowering Maple

Frost tolerance for flowering maple:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Flowering Maple do not do well in cold weather which tells us that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

In Helena the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Helena and it is different every year. Half of the time in Helena it frosts late in the year after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your flowering maple in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Helena

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Helena

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