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

One way of making a decision about when to plant painted tongues is to use the USDA zone info for Zone 3a.

Planting Calendar for Painted Tongues

Frost tolerance for painted tongues:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Since painted tongues are not cold tolerant it's important to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant painted tongues in Zone 3a 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 painted tongues and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your painted tongues may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your painted tongues indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on May 15 in Zone 3a. It might get as low as -40°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 3a and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Zone 3a you get surprised by a frost after May 15 be ready to protect your painted tongues if you have a surprise 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.