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

The earliest that you can plant flax in Sterling should be estimated by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Flax

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

You can plant flax just a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant flax 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 flax and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your flax may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your flax indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Sterling. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Sterling is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Sterling there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your flax 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.