One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of figuring out when you can plant hosta is to consult the USDA zone info for Springfield.

Planting Calendar for Hosta

Frost tolerance for hosta:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Since hosta are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant hosta in Springfield 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 hosta and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your hosta may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your hosta indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Springfield. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Springfield is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Springfield you get a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your hosta if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Springfield

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 Springfield

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