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

A way of getting a good idea when it's possible to plant strawberries is to look at the USDA zone info for Washington.

Planting Calendar for Strawberries

Frost tolerance for strawberries:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Strawberries are very cold tolerant which tells us that you can plant them much earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant strawberries in Washington 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 strawberries and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your strawberries may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your strawberries indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Washington the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Washington is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Washington it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your strawberries in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Washington

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 Washington

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