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.

In Valley you can determine when it's the best time to plant painted tongues by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Painted Tongues

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant painted tongues 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 painted tongues in Valley 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 painted tongues and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your painted tongues may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your painted tongues indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in Valley. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Valley is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Valley there is a last frost after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your painted tongues in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Valley

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 Valley

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