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.

In Old Forge you can estimate when it's possible to plant asters by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Asters

Frost tolerance for asters:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Asters are moderately cold tolerant which means that you can start planting them earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant asters in Old Forge 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 asters and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your asters may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your asters indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Old Forge the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Old Forge may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Old Forge you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your asters in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Old Forge

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Old Forge

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Old Forge.