When to Plant Asparagus in Memphis, TN

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Memphis should be read to determine when it's possible to plant asparagus.


Planting Calendar for Asparagus

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

Since asparagus are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant asparagus in Memphis is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant asparagus and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your asparagus may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your asparagus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Memphis. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Memphis is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Memphis there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your asparagus in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Memphis

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low5°F
Highest Expected Low10°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 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Memphis

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