One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Laurel you can figure out when you can plant helianthemum by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Helianthemum

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

You can plant helianthemum a little bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant helianthemum in Laurel 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 helianthemum and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your helianthemum may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your helianthemum indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Laurel the average date of last frost happens on May 15. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Laurel and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Laurel there is a last frost after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your helianthemum in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Laurel

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 Laurel

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