Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant painted tongues in Zone 5b can be estimated by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Painted Tongues

Frost tolerance for painted tongues:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

It's probably not a good idea to plant painted tongues until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant painted tongues 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 painted tongues and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your painted tongues may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your painted tongues indoors.

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.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Zone 5b may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 5b it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your painted tongues 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.