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.

In Marseilles you can estimate when it's possible to plant astilbe by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Astilbe

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

Astilbe do well in a tiny bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant astilbe in Marseilles 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 astilbe and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your astilbe may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your astilbe indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Marseilles and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Marseilles there is a last frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your astilbe in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Marseilles

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 Marseilles

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