The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate 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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Pittsburgh it's a good idea to estimate when to plant peonies.

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.

You can plant peonies a bit earlier in the year because they do ok in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant peonies in Pittsburgh 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else 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 little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Pittsburgh. You can expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Pittsburgh is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Pittsburgh you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your peonies if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Pittsburgh

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 Pittsburgh

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