Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for New Castle can be looked at to determine when you can plant hosta.

Planting Calendar for Hosta

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

Hosta do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant hosta in New Castle 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. Any later than that and your hosta may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your hosta indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in New Castle. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for New Castle is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in New Castle there is a last frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your hosta in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for New Castle

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 New Castle

You may be interested in your other planting guides for New Castle.