When to Plant Pansies in Zone 2a

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to figure out when it's possible to plant pansies by referring to the USDA zone info for Zone 2a.


Planting Calendar for Pansies

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

Since pansies do well in cold you can plant them earlier in the year than other frost tender 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 2a is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant pansies and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your pansies may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your pansies indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Zone 2a. You can expect an average low temperature of -50°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 2a and it is different every year. Half of the time in Zone 2a last frost occurs after May 15 so always be ready to protect your pansies if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 2a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 2a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)August 15
Lowest Expected Low-50°F
Highest Expected Low-45°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -50°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -45°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 2a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 2a.