One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

It's a good idea to figure out when you can plant gerbera by using the USDA zone info for Valparaiso.

Planting Calendar for Gerbera

Frost tolerance for gerbera:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

You can plant gerbera just a tiny bit earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

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

The last month that you can plant gerbera and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your gerbera may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your gerbera indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Valparaiso. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Valparaiso is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Valparaiso last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your gerbera in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Valparaiso

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 Valparaiso

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