When to Plant Peonies in Elmwood Park, NJ

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.

The USDA zone info for Elmwood Park should be used to estimate when to plant peonies.


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.

Since peonies are barely cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant peonies in Elmwood Park 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 peonies and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your peonies may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your peonies indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Elmwood Park the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Elmwood Park and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Elmwood Park last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to protect your peonies in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Elmwood Park

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low0°F
Highest Expected Low5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Elmwood Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Elmwood Park.