The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of making a decision about when it's possible to plant impatiens is to refer to the USDA zone info for Rome.

Planting Calendar for Impatiens

Frost tolerance for impatiens:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Impatiens are not cold tolerant which tells us that you have to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant impatiens in Rome 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 impatiens and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your impatiens may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your impatiens indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Rome the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Rome may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Rome last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your impatiens in the event of 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.