One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

One way of determining when to plant hardy asters is to use the USDA zone info for Federal Way.

Planting Calendar for Hardy Asters

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

Hardy Asters can survive in a tiny bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant hardy asters in Federal Way 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 hardy asters and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your hardy asters may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your hardy asters indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Federal Way the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Federal Way and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Federal Way it frosts late in the year after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your hardy asters if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Federal Way

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Federal Way

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Federal Way.