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.

A way of figuring out when to plant asters is to use the USDA zone info for Longwood.

Planting Calendar for Asters

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

You can plant asters a little earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant asters in Longwood is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant asters and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your asters may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your asters indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Longwood. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Longwood and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Longwood you get a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your asters in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Longwood

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Longwood

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