When to plant strawberries in zone 6a

The zone 6a schedule for strawberries

Plant out

March 18 to April 1

First harvest, roughly

June 16 to July 20

From the median frost dates of the NOAA stations assigned to the 4,514 ZIP codes in zone 6a, and the timing recommended by Cooperative Extension guides for strawberries.

Dates before the last frost assume the soil has thawed and is dry enough to work: a squeezed handful crumbles instead of sticking. After a late or wet spring, wait for that even if the date has passed.

Frost risk in zone 6a

Zones are based on winter cold, not on frost dates, so the last spring frost varies a lot within a zone. Across zone 6a, the typical last frost ranges from about April 16 in the earliest tenth of ZIP codes to May 11 in the latest tenth, and the first fall frost from October 4 to October 24. For a typical place in the zone:

• April 16Risky: a later frost happens in 9 years out of 10
• April 29Typical: frost after this date in half of years
• May 14Safe: a later frost only 1 year in 10

Strawberries in zone 6a cities