One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

It's a good idea to estimate when you can plant polygonums by looking at the USDA zone info for Madison.

Planting Calendar for Polygonums

Frost tolerance for polygonums:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Polygonums require warm weather which means that it's important to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant polygonums in Madison is May. However, you really should wait until June if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant polygonums and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your polygonums may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your polygonums indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Madison the average date of last frost happens on May 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Madison is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Madison there is a last frost after May 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your polygonums if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Madison

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Madison

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