One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You will be able to estimate when it's a good idea to plant astilbe by checking out the USDA zone info for Ashland.

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.

Astilbe do well in very little cold which tells us that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant astilbe in Ashland 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. Any later than that and your astilbe may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your astilbe indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Ashland the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Ashland may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Ashland you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your astilbe if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ashland

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 Ashland

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