One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

In Sparta you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant primula by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Primula

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

Primula tend to make it in a bit of cold which means that you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant primula 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 primula and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your primula may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your primula indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Sparta and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Sparta there is a last frost after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your primula if you have 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.