One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

You will be able to determine when it's the best time to plant asters by reviewing the USDA zone info for Bluefield.

Planting Calendar for Asters

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

You can plant asters a little earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant asters in Bluefield 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 asters and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your asters may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your asters indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Bluefield the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Bluefield is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Bluefield you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your asters in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bluefield

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°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 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Bluefield

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