When to Plant Flax in Potsdam, NY

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

The best time to plant flax in Potsdam should be determined by referring to 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.

You can plant flax a little earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

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 Potsdam 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 flax and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your flax may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your flax indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Potsdam. You can expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Potsdam is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Potsdam you get a frost after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your flax if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Potsdam

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-25°F
Highest Expected Low-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Potsdam

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