One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Madison you will be able to estimate when it's possible to plant tritoma.

Planting Calendar for Tritoma

Frost tolerance for tritoma:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

You can plant tritoma a lot earlier in the year because they are very cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant tritoma 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 tritoma and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your tritoma may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your tritoma indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Madison and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Madison you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your tritoma if you have 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.