The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Zone 5b you should be able to determine when it's a good idea to plant festuca.

Planting Calendar for Festuca

Frost tolerance for festuca:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Festuca do ok in some cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant festuca in Zone 5b 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 festuca and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your festuca may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your festuca indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Zone 5b. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Zone 5b is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 5b there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your festuca in the event of 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.