When to Plant Asters in Zone 7b

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

A way of estimating when it's the best time to plant asters is to refer to the USDA zone info for Zone 7b.


Planting Calendar for Asters

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

Asters do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can start planting them earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant asters in Zone 7b 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 asters and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your asters may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your asters indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 7b the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 7b and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 7b you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your asters in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 7b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low5°F
Highest Expected Low10°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 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 7b

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 7b.