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.

It's possible to determine when it's the best time to plant pansies by referring to the USDA zone info for Tacoma.

Planting Calendar for Pansies

Frost tolerance for pansies:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Pansies are very cold tolerant which means that you can start planting them much earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant pansies in Tacoma 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 pansies and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your pansies may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your pansies indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Tacoma is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Tacoma last frost occurs after March 15 so always be ready to cover your pansies in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Tacoma

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 Tacoma

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