Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to estimate when it's possible to plant spearmint by checking out the USDA zone info for Madison.

Planting Calendar for Spearmint

Frost tolerance for spearmint:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Spearmint are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which means that you can start planting them much earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant spearmint in Madison 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 spearmint and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your spearmint may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your spearmint indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Madison. You should expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Madison and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Madison it frosts late in the year after May 15 be ready to cover your spearmint if you have one of those late frosts.

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.