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

One way of estimating when to plant tarragon is to refer to the USDA zone info for South Bend.

Planting Calendar for Tarragon

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

Tarragon do ok in moderate cold which means that you can start planting them slightly earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant tarragon in South Bend 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 tarragon and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your tarragon may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your tarragon indoors.

Last Frost Date

In South Bend the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for South Bend and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in South Bend there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your tarragon if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for South Bend

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 South Bend

You may be interested in your other planting guides for South Bend.