When to Plant Petunias in Omaha, NE

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant petunias in Omaha should be estimated by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Petunias

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

Since petunias do ok in moderate cold you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant petunias
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant petunias
Probably not a good time to plant petunias

The earliest that you can plant petunias in Omaha 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 petunias and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your petunias may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your petunias indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Omaha the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Omaha and it is different every year. Half of the time in Omaha you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your petunias in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Omaha

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 Omaha

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