When to Plant Peonies in South Burlington, VT

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 South Burlington you will be able to estimate when you can plant peonies.


Planting Calendar for Peonies

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

Since peonies do ok in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant peonies in South Burlington 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 peonies and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your peonies may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your peonies indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in South Burlington. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for South Burlington is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in South Burlington last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your peonies in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for South Burlington

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-20°F
Highest Expected Low-15°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 -15°F.

Plants to Grow in South Burlington

You may be interested in your other planting guides for South Burlington.