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.

A way of making a decision about when you can plant flowering maple is to look at the USDA zone info for Valparaiso.

Planting Calendar for Flowering Maple

Frost tolerance for flowering maple:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Since flowering maple do not do well in cold weather it's important to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant flowering maple in Valparaiso 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 flowering maple and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your flowering maple may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your flowering maple indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Valparaiso. You should expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Valparaiso is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Valparaiso there is a last frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your flowering maple in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Valparaiso

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Valparaiso

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