One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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 way of getting a good idea when it's the best time to plant oleander is to refer to the USDA zone info for Madison.

Planting Calendar for Oleander

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

You can not plant oleander until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant oleander in Madison 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 oleander and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your oleander may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your oleander indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Madison. You can expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Madison is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Madison there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your oleander if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Madison

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Madison

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