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.

The USDA zone info for Machesney Park can be reffered to in order to figure out when it's a good idea to plant liatris.

Planting Calendar for Liatris

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

Liatris are very cold tolerant which means that you can plant them a quite a bit earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant liatris in Machesney Park 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your liatris may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your liatris indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Machesney Park. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Machesney Park is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Machesney Park you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your liatris if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Machesney Park

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 Machesney Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Machesney Park.