One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

In Northampton you can figure out when it's the best time to plant skullcap by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Skullcap

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

Since skullcap require warm weather you have to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant skullcap in Northampton 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your skullcap may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your skullcap indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Northampton is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Northampton last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your skullcap if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Northampton

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 Northampton

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