One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of determining when it's the best time to plant lunaria is to refer to the USDA zone info for The Colony.

Planting Calendar for Lunaria

Frost tolerance for lunaria:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Since lunaria do well in moderate cold you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant lunaria in The Colony 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 lunaria and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your lunaria may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your lunaria indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in The Colony. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for The Colony is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in The Colony you get a frost after March 15 so always be ready to cover your lunaria if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for The Colony

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in The Colony

You may be interested in your other planting guides for The Colony.