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.

You will be able to determine when it's a good idea to plant purple coneflower by using the USDA zone info for Littleton.

Planting Calendar for Purple Coneflower

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

Since purple coneflower are barely cold tolerant you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant purple coneflower in Littleton 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 purple coneflower and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your purple coneflower may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your purple coneflower indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Littleton. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Littleton and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Littleton it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your purple coneflower if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Littleton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Littleton

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