When to Plant Foxglove in Madison, WI

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.

The first chance to plant foxglove in Madison should be determined by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Foxglove

Frost tolerance for foxglove: Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant: Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Since foxglove do well in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant foxglove
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant foxglove
Probably not a good time to plant foxglove

The earliest that you can plant foxglove in Madison 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 foxglove and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your foxglove may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your foxglove indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Madison the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Madison is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Madison last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to cover your foxglove in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Madison

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 Madison

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