When to Plant Pincushion Flower in Madison, WI

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Madison you will be able to figure out when it's a good idea to plant pincushion flower.


Planting Calendar for Pincushion Flower

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

Pincushion Flower do well in a little bit of cold which means that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant pincushion flower 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 pincushion flower and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your pincushion flower may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your pincushion flower indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that USDA zone info for Madison is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Madison you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your pincushion flower 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.