When to Plant Asparagus Fern in Zone 5a

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.

One way of determining when you can plant asparagus fern is to examine the USDA zone info for Zone 5a.


Planting Calendar for Asparagus Fern

Frost tolerance for asparagus fern: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost.

It's probably a bad idea to plant asparagus fern until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

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

The earliest that you can plant asparagus fern 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 asparagus fern and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your asparagus fern may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your asparagus fern indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Zone 5a. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Zone 5a is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 5a last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your asparagus fern in the event of a 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.