The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant peonies is to examine the USDA zone info for Astoria.

Planting Calendar for Peonies

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

Peonies are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which tells us that you can start planting them slightly earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant peonies in Astoria 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 peonies and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your peonies may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your peonies indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Astoria the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Astoria and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Astoria there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to protect your peonies in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Astoria

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Astoria

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