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

One way of getting a good idea when it's possible to plant spearmint is to refer to the USDA zone info for Elkins.

Planting Calendar for Spearmint

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

Since spearmint are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant spearmint in Elkins 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 spearmint and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your spearmint may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your spearmint indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Elkins. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Elkins may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Elkins you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your spearmint if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Elkins

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Elkins

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