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.

By using the USDA zone info for Dover you should be able to estimate when you can plant purple coneflower.

Planting Calendar for Purple Coneflower

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

Purple Coneflower do well in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Dover and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Dover it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your purple coneflower if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Dover

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 Dover

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