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.

You should be able to figure out when it's a good idea to plant dallas fern by looking at the USDA zone info for Missoula.

Planting Calendar for Dallas Fern

Frost tolerance for dallas fern:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

It's a bad idea to plant dallas fern until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant dallas fern in Missoula 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 dallas fern and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your dallas fern may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your dallas fern indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Missoula. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Missoula is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Missoula there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your dallas fern in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Missoula

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Missoula

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