When to Plant Okra in Zone 5a

One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

The best time to plant okra in Zone 5a should be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Okra

Frost tolerance for okra: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After all chance of frost has passed.

Okra require warm weather which means that you need to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant okra 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 okra and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your okra may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your okra indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is 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 is different every year. Since half of the time in Zone 5a last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your okra in the event of 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.