When to Plant Pansies in Zone 1a

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of determining when it's possible to plant pansies is to examine the USDA zone info for Zone 1a.


Planting Calendar for Pansies

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

Pansies are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which tells us that you can start planting them much earlier than more sensitive plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant pansies
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant pansies
Probably not a good time to plant pansies

The earliest that you can plant pansies in Zone 1a is May. However, you really should wait until June if you don't want to take any chances.

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is June 15 in Zone 1a. You should expect an average low temperature of -60°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 1a and it is different every year. Half of the time in Zone 1a you get surprised by a frost after June 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your pansies if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 1a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 1a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)June 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)July 15
Lowest Expected Low-60°F
Highest Expected Low-55°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -60°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -55°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 1a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 1a.