The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate 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 cosmos in Utica can be figured out by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Cosmos

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

Since cosmos do ok in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant cosmos in Utica 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 cosmos and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cosmos may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your cosmos indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Utica is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Utica last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to cover your cosmos if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Utica

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 Utica

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