One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

In Hampstead you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant peonies by referring to the USDA zone info.

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 some cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant peonies in Hampstead 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. Any later than that and your peonies may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your peonies indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Hampstead. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Keep in mind 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 Hampstead and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Hampstead it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your peonies in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hampstead

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Hampstead

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