The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of estimating when it's the best time to plant tritoma is to refer to the USDA zone info for Manhattan.

Planting Calendar for Tritoma

Frost tolerance for tritoma:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Tritoma do ok in cold weather which tells us that you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant tritoma in Manhattan 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 tritoma and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your tritoma may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your tritoma indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Manhattan is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Manhattan you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your tritoma if you have a surprise 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.