When to Plant Flax in Alfred, NY

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

In Alfred you can determine when it's the best time to plant flax by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Flax

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

Flax are moderately cold tolerant which tells us that you can start planting them earlier than more sensitive plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant flax 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 flax and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your flax may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your flax indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Alfred and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Alfred you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your flax in the event of a 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.