One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Zone 6a you can determine when it's possible to plant hosta by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Hosta

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

Since hosta are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant hosta in Zone 6a 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 hosta and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your hosta may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your hosta indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 6a the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Zone 6a is 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 6a you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your hosta if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 6a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 6a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 6a.