When to Plant Saxifraga in Madison, WI

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant saxifraga in Madison can be figured out by checking out the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Saxifraga

Frost tolerance for saxifraga: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since saxifraga are barely cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant saxifraga in Madison is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant saxifraga and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your saxifraga may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your saxifraga indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Madison. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind 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 you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your saxifraga in the event of a surprise 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.