One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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 Harvard you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant gerbera by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Gerbera

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

You can plant gerbera slightly earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant gerbera in Harvard 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 gerbera and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your gerbera may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your gerbera indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Harvard. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Harvard and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Harvard you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your gerbera in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Harvard

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Harvard

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