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

By looking at the USDA zone info for New Castle it's possible to determine when it's a good idea to plant liatris.

Planting Calendar for Liatris

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

Liatris tend to make it in cold weather which tells us that you can plant them much earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant liatris 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 liatris and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your liatris may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your liatris 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 New Castle. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for New Castle may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in New Castle you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your liatris in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.