One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant gladiolus in Fort Meade should be determined by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Gladiolus

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

Since gladiolus are barely cold tolerant 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 gladiolus in Fort Meade 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 gladiolus and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your gladiolus may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your gladiolus indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Fort Meade. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Fort Meade may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Fort Meade it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to protect your gladiolus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Meade

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Fort Meade

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Meade.