One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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 Midlothian you can estimate when it's possible to plant pentas by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Pentas

Frost tolerance for pentas:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Pentas are not cold tolerant which means that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant pentas in Midlothian is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant pentas and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your pentas may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your pentas 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 Midlothian. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Midlothian is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Midlothian it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your pentas in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Midlothian

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 Midlothian

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