Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Sterling should be used to estimate when to plant tropical water plants.

Planting Calendar for Tropical Water Plants

Frost tolerance for tropical water plants:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

It's probably not a good idea to plant tropical water plants until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant tropical water plants in Sterling 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 tropical water plants and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your tropical water plants may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your tropical water plants indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Sterling. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Sterling may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Sterling you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your tropical water plants in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Sterling

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 Sterling

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