One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

The USDA zone info for Darien can be reviewed to figure out when it's a good idea to plant strawflowers.

Planting Calendar for Strawflowers

Frost tolerance for strawflowers:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since strawflowers do ok in moderate cold you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant strawflowers in Darien is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Darien. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Darien may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Darien you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your strawflowers in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Darien

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 Darien

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