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 Derby it's a good idea to figure out when it's the best time to plant erysimum.

Planting Calendar for Erysimum

Frost tolerance for erysimum:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Erysimum are moderately cold tolerant which tells us that you can get them planted earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant erysimum in Derby 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 erysimum and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your erysimum may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your erysimum indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Derby. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Derby may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Derby last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your erysimum if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Derby

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Derby

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