One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

The best time to plant lenten rose in Altoona should be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Lenten Rose

Frost tolerance for lenten rose:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Since lenten rose are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant lenten rose in Altoona 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 lenten rose and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your lenten rose may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your lenten rose indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Altoona the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Altoona is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Altoona you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your lenten rose if you have a surprise 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.