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.

In Zone 5a you can determine when you can plant gaillardia by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Gaillardia

Frost tolerance for gaillardia:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Gaillardia do ok in moderate cold which means that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant gaillardia in Zone 5a 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 gaillardia and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your gaillardia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your gaillardia indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Zone 5a. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 5a may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 5a you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your gaillardia if you have 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.