When to Plant Peonies in Niagara Falls, NY

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.

One way of making a decision about when to plant peonies is to check out the USDA zone info for Niagara Falls.


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 do ok in moderate cold you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other frost tender 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 Niagara Falls 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. If you wait any later than that and your peonies may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your peonies indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Niagara Falls the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Niagara Falls is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Niagara Falls you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your peonies if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Niagara Falls

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-10°F
Highest Expected Low-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Niagara Falls

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Niagara Falls.