One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Machesney Park it's possible to determine when it's the best time to plant scabiosa.

Planting Calendar for Scabiosa

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

Since scabiosa are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant scabiosa in Machesney Park 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 scabiosa and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your scabiosa may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your scabiosa indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Machesney Park. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Machesney Park is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Machesney Park last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your scabiosa if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Machesney Park

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Machesney Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Machesney Park.