One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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.

It's possible to estimate when it's possible to plant echinacea by referring to the USDA zone info for Platteville.

Planting Calendar for Echinacea

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

You can plant echinacea a bit earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant echinacea in Platteville 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 echinacea and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your echinacea may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your echinacea indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Platteville the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Platteville and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Platteville you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your echinacea in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Platteville

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 Platteville

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