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.

You should be able to estimate when it's a good idea to plant anchusa by referring to the USDA zone info for Metropolis.

Planting Calendar for Anchusa

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

You can plant anchusa earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant anchusa in Metropolis 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 anchusa and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your anchusa may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your anchusa indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Metropolis the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Metropolis may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Metropolis there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your anchusa if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Metropolis

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Metropolis

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