Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for West Bend it's a good idea to figure out when it's a good idea to plant centaurea.

Planting Calendar for Centaurea

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

Since centaurea are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant centaurea in West Bend 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 centaurea and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your centaurea may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your centaurea 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 West Bend. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for West Bend may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in West Bend you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your centaurea if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for West Bend

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 West Bend

You may be interested in your other planting guides for West Bend.