When to Plant Schizanthus in Zone 3a

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 common way of estimating when to plant schizanthus is to look at the USDA zone info for Zone 3a.


Planting Calendar for Schizanthus

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

You really shouldn't plant schizanthus until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

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

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on May 15 in Zone 3a. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -40°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average 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 there is a last frost after May 15 be ready to cover your schizanthus if you have 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.