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

In El Dorado you can determine when to plant peonies by using the USDA zone info.

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

The earliest that you can plant peonies in El Dorado 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 fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your peonies indoors.

Last Frost Date

In El Dorado the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

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 El Dorado and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in El Dorado there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your peonies if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for El Dorado

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in El Dorado

You may be interested in your other planting guides for El Dorado.