When to Plant Lunaria in Madison, WI

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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 opportunity to plant lunaria in Madison can be figured out by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Lunaria

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

Since lunaria are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant lunaria 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 lunaria and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your lunaria may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your lunaria indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Madison and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Madison there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your lunaria if you have 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.