When to Plant Cilantro in Bethel, AK

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.

You will be able to estimate when you can plant cilantro by checking out the USDA zone info for Bethel.


Planting Calendar for Cilantro

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

Cilantro tend to make it in a tiny bit of cold which means that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

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

The last month that you can plant cilantro and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your cilantro may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your cilantro indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Bethel the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -35°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Bethel is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Bethel it frosts late in the year after May 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your cilantro in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Bethel

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-35°F
Highest Expected Low-30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -30°F.

Plants to Grow in Bethel

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