One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

You should be able to determine when it's the best time to plant lovage by looking at the USDA zone info for Jefferson.

Planting Calendar for Lovage

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

Since lovage 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 other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant lovage in Jefferson 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 lovage and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your lovage may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your lovage indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Jefferson. 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 Jefferson is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Jefferson you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your lovage in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Jefferson

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 Jefferson

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