One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. 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 determining when it's the best time to plant centaurea is to look at the USDA zone info for Thurmont.

Planting Calendar for Centaurea

Frost tolerance for centaurea:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Centaurea do well in moderate cold which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant centaurea in Thurmont is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant centaurea and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your centaurea may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your centaurea indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Thurmont. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Thurmont may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Thurmont there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your centaurea in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Thurmont

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

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

Plants to Grow in Thurmont

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