When to Plant Candytuft in Zone 5a

One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your 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 5a you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant candytuft by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Candytuft

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

You can plant candytuft a bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant candytuft 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 candytuft and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your candytuft may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your candytuft indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Zone 5a. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 5a is an average the actual date of last frost 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 candytuft if you have 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.