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.

A common way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant bachelor buttons is to look at the USDA zone info for Helena.

Planting Calendar for Bachelor Buttons

Frost tolerance for bachelor buttons:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Since bachelor buttons do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant bachelor buttons in Helena 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 bachelor buttons and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your bachelor buttons may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your bachelor buttons indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Helena. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Helena may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Helena last frost occurs after May 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your bachelor buttons in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Helena

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 Helena

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