The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of making a decision about when it's the best time to plant matricaria is to refer to the USDA zone info for Sussex.

Planting Calendar for Matricaria

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

Since matricaria do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant matricaria in Sussex 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 matricaria and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your matricaria may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your matricaria indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Sussex and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Sussex there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your matricaria in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Sussex

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 Sussex

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