When to Plant Oregano in Madison, WI

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.

The USDA zone info for Madison can be reviewed to determine when to plant oregano.


Planting Calendar for Oregano

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

Since oregano are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Madison. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Madison may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Madison last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your oregano 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.