When to Plant Alstromeria in Zone 5a

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 alstromeria in Zone 5a should be estimated by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Alstromeria

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

Alstromeria do well in moderate cold which means that you can start planting them earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant alstromeria in Zone 5a is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant alstromeria and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your alstromeria may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your alstromeria indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 5a the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 5a and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 5a last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your alstromeria if you have one of those late frosts.

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.