One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your 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.

A common way of getting a good idea when you can plant astilbe is to use the USDA zone info for Valley Stream.

Planting Calendar for Astilbe

Frost tolerance for astilbe:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since astilbe do ok in moderate cold you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant astilbe in Valley Stream 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 astilbe and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your astilbe may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your astilbe 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 April 15 in Valley Stream. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Valley Stream and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Valley Stream it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your astilbe in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Valley Stream

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

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

Plants to Grow in Valley Stream

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Valley Stream.