One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your 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.

You should be able to estimate when it's a good idea to plant iresene by reviewing the USDA zone info for Pittsfield.

Planting Calendar for Iresene

Frost tolerance for iresene:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

It's probably a bad idea to plant iresene until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant iresene in Pittsfield 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 iresene and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your iresene may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your iresene indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Pittsfield 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 Pittsfield you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your iresene in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Pittsfield

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Pittsfield

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