One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Orting you should be able to figure out when it's the best time to plant rhubarb.

Planting Calendar for Rhubarb

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

You can plant rhubarb a little bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant rhubarb in Orting 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 rhubarb and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your rhubarb may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your rhubarb indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Orting the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Orting is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Orting last frost occurs after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your rhubarb in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Orting

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 Orting

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