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.

It's a good idea to estimate when to plant hardy asters by using the USDA zone info for La Crosse.

Planting Calendar for Hardy Asters

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

Since hardy asters are barely cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant hardy asters in La Crosse 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 hardy asters and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your hardy asters may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your hardy asters indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in La Crosse. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for La Crosse is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in La Crosse there is a last frost after May 15 be ready to cover your hardy asters in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for La Crosse

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in La Crosse

You may be interested in your other planting guides for La Crosse.