One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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 checking out the USDA zone info for Atchison you should be able to estimate when it's a good idea to plant peonies.

Planting Calendar for Peonies

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

Peonies are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant peonies in Atchison 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 peonies and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your peonies may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your peonies indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Atchison. 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 is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Atchison and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Atchison you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your peonies in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Atchison

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 Atchison

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