One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Shippensburg you can figure out when you can plant peonies by reviewing the USDA zone info.

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 do ok in very little cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant peonies in Shippensburg 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 fully mature. Starting your peonies indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Shippensburg the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Shippensburg is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Shippensburg you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your peonies if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Shippensburg

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 Shippensburg

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