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

A way of making a decision about when to plant hardy asters is to look at the USDA zone info for Gardner.

Planting Calendar for Hardy Asters

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

Hardy Asters tend to make it in some cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant hardy asters in Gardner 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 hardy asters and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your hardy asters may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your hardy asters indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Gardner. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Gardner may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Gardner there is a last frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your hardy asters if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gardner

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 Gardner

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