When to Plant Sedum in Zone 5a

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

By using the USDA zone info for Zone 5a you should be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant sedum.


Planting Calendar for Sedum

Frost tolerance for sedum: Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant: Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Sedum are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which tells us that you can plant them a quite a bit earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant sedum 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 sedum and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your sedum may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your sedum indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 5a the average date of last frost happens on April 15. 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 can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 5a you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your sedum 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.