One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

In Madison you can figure out when it's the best time to plant tropical water plants by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Tropical Water Plants

Frost tolerance for tropical water plants:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Since tropical water plants are not cold tolerant you must wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant tropical water plants 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 tropical water plants and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your tropical water plants may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your tropical water plants indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Madison is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Madison there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your tropical water plants in the event of a surprise late frost.

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.