When to Plant Achimenes in Zone 5a

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.

The USDA zone info for Zone 5a should be reffered to in order to figure out when you can plant achimenes.


Planting Calendar for Achimenes

Frost tolerance for achimenes: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since achimenes do not do well in cold weather you must wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant achimenes in Zone 5a 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 achimenes and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your achimenes may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your achimenes 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 April 15 in Zone 5a. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 5a and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 5a it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your achimenes in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 5a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-20°F
Highest Expected Low-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 5a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 5a.