Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of estimating when it's the best time to plant gayfeather is to check out the USDA zone info for Springfield.

Planting Calendar for Gayfeather

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

Gayfeather do well in quite a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

The last month that you can plant gayfeather and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your gayfeather may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your gayfeather indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Springfield the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Springfield is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Springfield it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to cover your gayfeather in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Springfield

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Springfield

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