When to Plant Petunias in Gaithersburg, MD

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.

The best time to plant petunias in Gaithersburg should be figured out by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Petunias

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

Petunias do ok in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant petunias in Gaithersburg 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 petunias and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your petunias may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your petunias indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Gaithersburg. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Gaithersburg is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Gaithersburg there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your petunias in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gaithersburg

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low0°F
Highest Expected Low5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Gaithersburg

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