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.

By using the USDA zone info for Waterford it's a good idea to estimate when it's the best time to plant spearmint.

Planting Calendar for Spearmint

Frost tolerance for spearmint:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

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

The earliest that you can plant spearmint in Waterford is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant spearmint and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your spearmint may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your spearmint indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Waterford. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Waterford is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Waterford it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to protect your spearmint in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Waterford

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Waterford

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