Zone 2a Planting Calendar: What to Plant Each Month
The coldest night of the winter averages -50°F to -45°F in zone 2a. Where it is, when its frosts come, and what to do in the garden each month, from extension service guidance.
Where zone 2a is
Zone 2a covers 27 ZIP codes in Alaska: Alaska (27).
Across its 5 NOAA stations the last spring frost comes around May 20 and the first fall frost around Sep 4; half the stations fall between May 18 and May 24 in spring and Sep 3 and Sep 5 in fall.
Cities and towns in zone 2a
Tap a town for its own frost dates and this month’s jobs; a hill or a valley a few miles off can be half a zone either side.
Zone 2a planting calendar
What to start, sow, plant, divide, prune, mulch and protect in zone 2a, month by month. Every job names the extension service page it rests on; open “Where this comes from” under a job to read their words.
Timed from the median frost dates of the 5 NOAA stations in zone 2a: last spring frost May 20, first fall frost Sep 4. Your own ZIP’s frost dates move every window, so the ZIP tool times them for you.
Pick a month above to see every job in it.
The year at a glance
- Start vegetable seeds indoorsFeb to May
- Sow vegetables in the gardenApr to May
- Sow the fall vegetable gardenJun to Jul
- Set out transplantsApr to Jun
- Plant trees and shrubsApr 8 to Jun 3 and Aug 21 to Oct 9
- Plant tulips and other spring bulbsSep 11 to Sep 18
- Divide fall-blooming perennialsApr 29 to Jun 10
- Divide spring and summer-blooming perennialsJul 24 to Sep 4
- Prune trees and summer-flowering shrubs while dormantMar 11 to Apr 22
- Prune spring-flowering shrubs after they bloomMay 6 to Jul 1
- Water evergreens and new plantings until the ground freezesAug 7 to Oct 16
- Mulch perennial crowns once the ground freezesOct 16 to Oct 30
- Pull back the winter mulchApr 1 to Apr 15
- Put hardware cloth around young tree trunksSep 4 to Oct 16
- Dig and store canna, dahlia and gladiolusSep 4 to Sep 11
- Cut back perennials after a hard freezeSep 11 to Oct 9
What grows in zone 2a
Perennials, shrubs, trees and fruit that NC State Extension rates as hardy in zone 2a, each linked to its plant page. A plant rated for a range of zones suits every half zone in it, so “zones 4 to 8” covers 4a through 8b.
Shrubs 2
- Arrowwood viburnumzones 2a to 8b
- Red twig dogwoodzones 2a to 7b
Trees 3
- Red maplezones 2a to 9b
- Paper birchzones 2a to 7a
- Colorado blue sprucezones 2a to 7a
Perennial vegetables 1
- Asparaguszones 2a to 9b
Ratings from the NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, read Oct 9, 2026. The zone covers winter cold only; heat, rain and soil decide the rest.
The zones next to 2a
Each half zone is five degrees. Zone 1b is five degrees colder at -55°F to -50°F. Zone 2b is five degrees warmer at -45°F to -40°F.
Zone 2a questions
Your own dates, by ZIP
Sources. USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP code tables (2023 and 2012), PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University; USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map; USDA Unveils Updated Plant Hardiness Zone Map (USDA Agricultural Research Service, November 15, 2023); NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, annual/seasonal, by station (v1.0.1); NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. Zone frost dates are the medians of the NOAA 1991 to 2020 station normals inside the zone.
The calendar’s extension sources:
- UNH Cooperative Extension, Growing Vegetables: When to Plant your Vegetable Garden, read Sep 21, 2026.
- University of Minnesota Extension, Planting vegetables in midsummer for a fall harvest, read Oct 9, 2026.
- University of Illinois Extension, Planting a fall vegetable garden (Good Growing), read Oct 9, 2026.
- University of Minnesota Extension, Dividing perennials, read Oct 9, 2026.
- Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, How should I prepare my perennial beds for winter?, read Oct 9, 2026.
- University of Minnesota Extension, Pruning trees and shrubs, read Oct 9, 2026.
- Rutgers NJAES Cooperative Extension, Pruning Flowering Shrubs (FS1221), read Oct 9, 2026.
- University of Maryland Extension, Planting a Tree or Shrub, read Oct 9, 2026.
- University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension, Preparing Landscape Plants for Winter, read Oct 9, 2026.
- University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension, Storing Tender Bulbs for Winter, read Oct 9, 2026.
- Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, All About Tulips, read Oct 9, 2026.
- UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions, Tulips, read Oct 9, 2026.
- UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions, Preparing the Landscape for Cold Weather, read Oct 9, 2026.
- UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions, Treating Cold-Damaged Plants, read Oct 9, 2026.