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.

A way of estimating when to plant sunflowers is to use the USDA zone info for Ellsworth.

Planting Calendar for Sunflowers

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

Since sunflowers require warm weather you have to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant sunflowers in Ellsworth 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 sunflowers and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your sunflowers may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your sunflowers indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Ellsworth the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Ellsworth may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Ellsworth it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your sunflowers in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ellsworth

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 Ellsworth

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