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.

A way of estimating when you can plant pansies is to refer to the USDA zone info for Brainerd.

Planting Calendar for Pansies

Frost tolerance for pansies:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Pansies can survive in pretty solid cold which means that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant pansies in Brainerd 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 pansies and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your pansies may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your pansies indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Brainerd the average date of last frost happens on May 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -35°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Brainerd is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Brainerd there is a last frost after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your pansies in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Brainerd

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-35°F
Highest Expected Low	-30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -30°F.

Plants to Grow in Brainerd

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