When to Plant Oleander in Zone 5a

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out 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.

A common way of determining when it's possible to plant oleander is to examine the USDA zone info for Zone 5a.


Planting Calendar for Oleander

Frost tolerance for oleander: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Oleander do not do well in cold weather which means that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant oleander 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 oleander and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your oleander may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your oleander indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

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.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Zone 5a is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 5a there is a last frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your oleander in the event of 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.