One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Madison you should be able to figure out when you can plant saxifraga.

Planting Calendar for Saxifraga

Frost tolerance for saxifraga:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since saxifraga do ok in moderate cold you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant saxifraga in Madison 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 saxifraga and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your saxifraga may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your saxifraga indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Madison. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Madison and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Madison you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your saxifraga in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Madison

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Madison

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