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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Manhattan it's a good idea to figure out when it's a good idea to plant veronica.

Planting Calendar for Veronica

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

Veronica are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which means that you can plant them earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant veronica 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 veronica and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your veronica may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your veronica indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Manhattan. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Manhattan is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Manhattan there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your veronica in the event of 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.