One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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 figure out when it's a good idea to plant impatiens by checking out the USDA zone info for Shenandoah.

Planting Calendar for Impatiens

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

Since impatiens are not cold tolerant it's important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Shenandoah. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Shenandoah is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Shenandoah last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your impatiens in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Shenandoah

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Shenandoah

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