One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant calliopsis is to look at the USDA zone info for Somerset.

Planting Calendar for Calliopsis

Frost tolerance for calliopsis:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Since calliopsis are not cold tolerant you have to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant calliopsis in Somerset is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant calliopsis and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your calliopsis may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your calliopsis indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember 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 Somerset and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Somerset you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your calliopsis in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Somerset

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 Somerset

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