One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

A common way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant tithonia is to consult the USDA zone info for Elkhart.

Planting Calendar for Tithonia

Frost tolerance for tithonia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

You really shouldn't plant tithonia until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant tithonia in Elkhart 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 tithonia and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your tithonia may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your tithonia indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Elkhart. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Elkhart is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Elkhart there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your tithonia if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Elkhart

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Elkhart

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