When to Plant Black pepper in Zone 3b

One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Zone 3b you will be able to estimate when it's possible to plant black pepper.


Planting Calendar for Black pepper

Frost tolerance for black pepper: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost.

It's probably not a good idea to plant black pepper until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

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

The earliest that you can plant black pepper in Zone 3b 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 black pepper and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your black pepper may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your black pepper indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 3b the average date of last frost happens on May 15. It might get as low as -35°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 3b is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 3b you get a frost after May 15 be ready to cover your black pepper in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 3b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-35°F
Highest Expected Low-30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -30°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 3b

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