The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant rhubarb in Madison can be estimated by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Rhubarb

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

You can plant rhubarb a little earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant rhubarb in Madison 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 rhubarb and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your rhubarb may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your rhubarb indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Madison. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Madison and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Madison you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your rhubarb 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.