Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Manchester you can estimate when to plant pansies by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Pansies

Frost tolerance for pansies:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since pansies do well in cold you can plant them earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant pansies in Manchester is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant pansies and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your pansies may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your pansies indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Manchester is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Manchester there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your pansies in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Manchester

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 Manchester

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