One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

The USDA zone info for Amherst can be reffered to in order to figure out when it's possible to plant napa valley fern.

Planting Calendar for Napa Valley Fern

Frost tolerance for napa valley fern:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since napa valley fern require warm weather you need to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant napa valley fern in Amherst is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant napa valley fern and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your napa valley fern may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your napa valley fern indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Amherst 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.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Amherst and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Amherst there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your napa valley fern in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Amherst

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 Amherst

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