The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to estimate when you can plant primula by checking out the USDA zone info for Ottawa.

Planting Calendar for Primula

Frost tolerance for primula:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since primula are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant primula in Ottawa is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant primula and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your primula may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your primula indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Ottawa. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Ottawa is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Ottawa you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your primula if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ottawa

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 Ottawa

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