One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 first chance to plant hardy asters in Madison should be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Hardy Asters

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

Hardy Asters do well in a tiny bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant hardy asters in Madison 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 hardy asters and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your hardy asters may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your hardy asters indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Madison. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Madison is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Madison you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your hardy asters if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Madison

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Madison

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