One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 best time to plant pansies in Estes Park can be determined by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Pansies

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

Since pansies do well in cold you can plant them much earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant pansies in Estes Park is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant pansies and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your pansies may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your pansies indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Estes Park. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Estes Park is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Estes Park you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your pansies in the event of 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.