Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to figure out when it's the best time to plant peonies by looking at the USDA zone info for Marseilles.

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

The earliest that you can plant peonies 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 peonies and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your peonies may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your peonies indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Marseilles is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Marseilles last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your peonies 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.