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

In Madison you can determine when it's the best time to plant copperleaf by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Copperleaf

Frost tolerance for copperleaf:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

You should not plant copperleaf until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant copperleaf in Madison is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant copperleaf and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your copperleaf may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your copperleaf indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Madison the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Madison is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Madison it frosts late in the year after March 15 so always be ready to cover your copperleaf in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Madison

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Madison

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