When to Plant Strawberries in Dayton, MN

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening 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 Dayton can be read to figure out when it's the best time to plant strawberries.


Planting Calendar for Strawberries

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

Since strawberries are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them much earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant strawberries
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant strawberries
Probably not a good time to plant strawberries

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on May 15 in Dayton. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Dayton and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Dayton last frost occurs after May 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your strawberries in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Dayton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-25°F
Highest Expected Low-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Dayton

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