One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

By using the USDA zone info for Greenbelt it's a good idea to figure out when it's a good idea to plant echinacea.

Planting Calendar for Echinacea

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

Echinacea do ok in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant echinacea in Greenbelt 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 echinacea and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your echinacea may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your echinacea indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Greenbelt the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Greenbelt and it is different every year. Half of the time in Greenbelt you get a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your echinacea in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Greenbelt

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 Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°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 Greenbelt

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