Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Somerset you can determine when it's a good idea to plant peonies by checking out 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.

Since peonies are barely cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant peonies in Somerset 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your peonies indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Somerset the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Somerset and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Somerset it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your peonies in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Somerset

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Somerset

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