One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Altoona it's possible to determine when it's a good idea to plant cilantro.

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 do ok in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant cilantro in Altoona 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 cilantro and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your cilantro may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your cilantro indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Altoona. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Altoona is 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 cilantro 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.