One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

In Philadelphia you can determine when it's a good idea to plant oleander by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Oleander

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

It's a bad idea to plant oleander until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant oleander 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 oleander and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your oleander may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your oleander indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on March 15 in Philadelphia. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Philadelphia is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Philadelphia you get a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your oleander if you have a 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.