One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Arnold it's a good idea to figure out when it's a good idea 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.

Astilbe do ok in a tiny bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant astilbe in Arnold 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. Any later than that and your astilbe may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your astilbe indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Arnold. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Arnold is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Arnold you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your astilbe in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Arnold

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 Arnold

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