Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Hillsdale can be reffered to in order to estimate when it's a good idea to plant asters.

Planting Calendar for Asters

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

Asters can survive in moderate cold which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant asters in Hillsdale 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 asters and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your asters may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your asters indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Hillsdale. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Hillsdale is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Hillsdale you get a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your asters in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Hillsdale

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 Hillsdale

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