One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. 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 5b it's a good idea to determine when it's the best time to plant brachycome.

Planting Calendar for Brachycome

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

It's not a good idea to plant brachycome until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant brachycome in Zone 5b 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 brachycome and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your brachycome may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your brachycome indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 5b the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Zone 5b is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 5b there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your brachycome if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 5b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 5b

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 5b.