When to Plant Pansies in Watertown, SD

One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Watertown you will be able to estimate when you can plant pansies.


Planting Calendar for Pansies

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

Since pansies are very cold tolerant you can plant them much earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant pansies
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant pansies
Probably not a good time to plant pansies

The earliest that you can plant pansies in Watertown 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 pansies and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your pansies may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your pansies indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Watertown. It might get as low as -30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Watertown is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Watertown there is a last frost after May 15 be ready to cover your pansies if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Watertown

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-30°F
Highest Expected Low-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Watertown

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