One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Zone 3b you can figure out when it's the best time to plant helianthemum by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Helianthemum

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

You can plant helianthemum a little bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Zone 3b. You should expect an average low temperature of -35°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 3b is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 3b you get surprised by a frost after May 15 be ready to protect your helianthemum in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.