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.

One way of estimating when it's the best time to plant chamomile is to use the USDA zone info for Alfred.

Planting Calendar for Chamomile

Frost tolerance for chamomile:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Chamomile can survive in some cold which means that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Alfred. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Alfred is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Alfred last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to protect your chamomile in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Alfred

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 Alfred

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