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.

A way of figuring out when to plant peonies is to use the USDA zone info for Deerfield.

Planting Calendar for Peonies

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

Peonies can survive in a tiny bit of cold which means that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant peonies in Deerfield 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 peonies and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your peonies may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your peonies indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Deerfield. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Deerfield is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Deerfield there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your peonies if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Deerfield

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 Deerfield

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