One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your 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 way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant peonies is to examine the USDA zone info for Jamestown.

Planting Calendar for Peonies

Frost tolerance for peonies:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Peonies do ok in moderate cold which means that you can start planting them slightly earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant peonies in Jamestown 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 peonies and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your peonies may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your peonies indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Jamestown. You can expect an average low temperature of -30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Jamestown is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Jamestown there is a last frost after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your peonies if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Jamestown

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-30°F
Highest Expected Low	-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Jamestown

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