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.

The USDA zone info for Utica can be read to determine when it's possible to plant astilbe.

Planting Calendar for Astilbe

Frost tolerance for astilbe:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since astilbe do ok in moderate cold you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant astilbe in Utica 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 astilbe and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your astilbe may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your astilbe indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Utica. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Utica is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Utica last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your astilbe in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Utica

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Utica

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