Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of figuring out when you can plant peonies is to examine the USDA zone info for Dayton.

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

The earliest that you can plant peonies in Dayton 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 really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your peonies indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Dayton. You can expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Dayton is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Dayton last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your peonies if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Dayton

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 Dayton

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