When to Plant Astilbe in Bradford, PA

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

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Bradford it's a good idea to figure out when it's the best time to plant astilbe.


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.

You can plant astilbe slightly earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant astilbe
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant astilbe
Probably not a good time to plant astilbe

The earliest that you can plant astilbe in Bradford 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. If you wait any later than that and your astilbe may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your astilbe indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Bradford. It might get as low as -20°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 Bradford and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Bradford you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your astilbe in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bradford

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-20°F
Highest Expected Low-15°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 -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Bradford

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