When to Plant Impatiens in Zone 5a

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Zone 5a you will be able to determine when to plant impatiens.


Planting Calendar for Impatiens

Frost tolerance for impatiens: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost has passed.

Since impatiens require warm weather it's important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant impatiens 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 impatiens and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your impatiens may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your impatiens indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Zone 5a is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Zone 5a you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your impatiens 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.