When to Plant Pumpkins in La Plata, MD

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant pumpkins in La Plata can be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Pumpkins

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

It's a bad idea to plant pumpkins until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

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

The earliest that you can plant pumpkins in La Plata 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 pumpkins and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your pumpkins may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your pumpkins indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In La Plata the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for La Plata is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in La Plata you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your pumpkins in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for La Plata

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 La Plata

You may be interested in your other planting guides for La Plata.