One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

You should be able to estimate when it's a good idea to plant painted tongues by referring to the USDA zone info for Albany.

Planting Calendar for Painted Tongues

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

Painted Tongues do not do well in cold weather which means that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on March 15 in Albany. You can expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Albany is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Albany you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your painted tongues if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Albany

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 Albany

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