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

By checking out the USDA zone info for Philadelphia you should be able to figure out when it's a good idea to plant hamelia.

Planting Calendar for Hamelia

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

It's a bad idea to plant hamelia until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant hamelia in Philadelphia 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 hamelia and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your hamelia may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your hamelia indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in Philadelphia. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Philadelphia is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Philadelphia it frosts late in the year after March 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your hamelia if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Philadelphia

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Philadelphia

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