One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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 figure out when it's a good idea to plant purple coneflower by reviewing the USDA zone info for Hartford.

Planting Calendar for Purple Coneflower

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

Since purple coneflower are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant purple coneflower in Hartford 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 purple coneflower and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your purple coneflower may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your purple coneflower indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Hartford. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Hartford may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Hartford last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your purple coneflower in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Hartford

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

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

Plants to Grow in Hartford

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