One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

In Rome you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant datura by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Datura

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

Datura do well in some cold which means that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant datura in Rome 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 datura and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your datura may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your datura indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Rome. You should expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Rome is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Rome you get a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your datura if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rome

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Rome

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