When to Plant Arctotis in Zone 3a

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of getting a good idea when to plant arctotis is to check out the USDA zone info for Zone 3a.


Planting Calendar for Arctotis

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

Arctotis are moderately cold tolerant which tells us that you can plant them earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant arctotis in Zone 3a is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant arctotis and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your arctotis may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your arctotis indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 3a the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -40°F.

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 3a and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 3a you get a frost after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your arctotis if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 3a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-40°F
Highest Expected Low-35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -40°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -35°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 3a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 3a.