One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of estimating when to plant liatris is to consult the USDA zone info for Shenandoah.

Planting Calendar for Liatris

Frost tolerance for liatris:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since liatris are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

Last Frost Date

In Shenandoah the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Shenandoah and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Shenandoah you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your liatris if you have a 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.