When to Plant Hemerocallis in Zone 5a

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Zone 5a you can figure out when to plant hemerocallis by referring to the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Hemerocallis

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

Hemerocallis do ok in some cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant hemerocallis 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 hemerocallis and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your hemerocallis may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your hemerocallis indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of 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.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 5a is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 5a you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your hemerocallis 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.