One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's possible to estimate when to plant cilantro by using the USDA zone info for Manhattan.

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 well in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant cilantro in Manhattan 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cilantro may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your cilantro indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that USDA zone info for Manhattan is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Manhattan there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your cilantro in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Manhattan

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 Manhattan

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