One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your 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 will be able to determine when to plant matricaria by checking out the USDA zone info for Madison.

Planting Calendar for Matricaria

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

Matricaria do ok in a little bit of cold which tells us that 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 matricaria 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 matricaria and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your matricaria may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your matricaria indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Madison the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Madison and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Madison you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your matricaria in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.