One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

In Sparta you can determine when it's possible to plant centaurea by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Centaurea

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

Centaurea can survive in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant centaurea in Sparta 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 centaurea and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your centaurea may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your centaurea indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Sparta the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Sparta is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Sparta you get a frost after May 15 be ready to cover your centaurea in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Sparta

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 Sparta

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