One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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.

The USDA zone info for Estes Park can be looked at to figure out when you can plant painted tongues.

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 has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant painted tongues in Estes Park 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. If you wait any later than that and your painted tongues may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your painted tongues indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Estes Park the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Estes Park and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Estes Park it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your painted tongues if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Estes Park

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Estes Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Estes Park.