The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Sterling you can estimate when it's possible to plant asters by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Asters

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

Asters do ok in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant asters in Sterling 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 asters and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your asters may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your asters indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that USDA zone info for Sterling is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Sterling last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your asters in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Sterling

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 Sterling

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