One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant saxifraga in Zone 3a can be estimated by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Saxifraga

Frost tolerance for saxifraga:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since saxifraga are barely cold tolerant you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Zone 3a. You can expect an average low temperature of -40°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Zone 3a is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 3a you get surprised by a frost after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your saxifraga in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.