Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant banana in Altoona should be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Banana

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

Banana require warm weather which tells us that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant banana in Altoona 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 banana and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your banana may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your banana indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Altoona the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Altoona is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Altoona it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your banana in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Altoona

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Altoona

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