When to Plant Foxglove in Boston, MA

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's possible to figure out when it's a good idea to plant foxglove by reviewing the USDA zone info for Boston.


Planting Calendar for Foxglove

Frost tolerance for foxglove: Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant: Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Foxglove do well in moderate cold which means that you can plant them earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant foxglove
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant foxglove
Probably not a good time to plant foxglove

The earliest that you can plant foxglove in Boston is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant foxglove and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your foxglove may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your foxglove indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Boston the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Boston is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Boston last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your foxglove in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Boston

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 Low0°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 Boston

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