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 Stafford you can determine when to plant bleeding hearts by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Bleeding Hearts

Frost tolerance for bleeding hearts:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since bleeding hearts are barely cold tolerant you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant bleeding hearts in Stafford 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 bleeding hearts and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your bleeding hearts may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your bleeding hearts indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Stafford. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Stafford and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Stafford it frosts late in the year after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your bleeding hearts in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Stafford

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

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

Plants to Grow in Stafford

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