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.

You should be able to determine when it's the best time to plant hardy asters by referring to the USDA zone info for Lake Stevens.

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.

Since hardy asters are barely cold tolerant you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant hardy asters in Lake Stevens 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. Any later than that and your hardy asters may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your hardy asters indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Lake Stevens is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Lake Stevens there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to cover your hardy asters if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lake Stevens

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 Lake Stevens

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Lake Stevens.