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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Mauston it's possible to figure out when it's a good idea to plant red hot pokers.

Planting Calendar for Red Hot Pokers

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

Red Hot Pokers tend to make it in cold weather which tells us that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant red hot pokers in Mauston 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 red hot pokers and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your red hot pokers may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your red hot pokers indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Mauston the average date of last frost happens on May 15. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Mauston is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Mauston it frosts late in the year after May 15 be ready to protect your red hot pokers in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mauston

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Mauston

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Mauston.