When to Plant Skullcap in Gardner, MA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of getting a good idea when you can plant skullcap is to examine the USDA zone info for Gardner.


Planting Calendar for Skullcap

Frost tolerance for skullcap: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost.

Skullcap require warm weather which tells us that you must wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant skullcap
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant skullcap
Probably not a good time to plant skullcap

The earliest that you can plant skullcap in Gardner 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 skullcap and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your skullcap may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your skullcap indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Gardner and it is different every year. Half of the time in Gardner you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your skullcap in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Gardner

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 Gardner

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