When to Plant Liatris in Zone 6b

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Zone 6b it's a good idea to estimate when it's the best time to plant liatris.


Planting Calendar for Liatris

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

You can plant liatris a lot earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather.

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

The earliest that you can plant liatris in Zone 6b 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 liatris and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your liatris may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your liatris 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 6b. You can expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 6b and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 6b you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your liatris if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 6b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-5°F
Highest Expected Low0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 6b

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