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.

In Franklin you can figure out when you can plant polygonums by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Polygonums

Frost tolerance for polygonums:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Since polygonums do not do well in cold weather you must wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant polygonums in Franklin is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant polygonums and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your polygonums may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your polygonums indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Franklin. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Franklin is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Franklin there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your polygonums in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Franklin

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Franklin

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