One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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 reviewing the USDA zone info for Westchester it's a good idea to determine when it's a good idea to plant gomphrena.

Planting Calendar for Gomphrena

Frost tolerance for gomphrena:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Gomphrena do well in some cold which means that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant gomphrena in Westchester is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant gomphrena and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your gomphrena may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your gomphrena indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Westchester the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Westchester is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Westchester it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your gomphrena in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Westchester

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 Westchester

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Westchester.