One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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 Middlesex should be reviewed to figure out when it's the best time to plant sunflowers.

Planting Calendar for Sunflowers

Frost tolerance for sunflowers:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

It's a bad idea to plant sunflowers until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant sunflowers in Middlesex 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 sunflowers and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your sunflowers may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your sunflowers indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Middlesex. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Middlesex is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Middlesex it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to cover your sunflowers in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Middlesex

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

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

Plants to Grow in Middlesex

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