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.

The first chance to plant peonies in Maricopa can be determined by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Peonies

Frost tolerance for peonies:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Peonies can survive in some cold which tells us that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant peonies in Maricopa is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

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

Last Frost Date

In Maricopa the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 5°F in 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 Maricopa and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Maricopa it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your peonies in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Maricopa

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 Maricopa

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