The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. 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 determining when it's possible to plant astilbe is to check out the USDA zone info for Olympia Fields.

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 are barely cold tolerant which tells us that you can start planting them slightly earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant astilbe in Olympia Fields 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 few weeks earlier by starting your astilbe indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Olympia Fields and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Olympia Fields you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your astilbe in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Olympia Fields

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 Olympia Fields

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Olympia Fields.