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.

The USDA zone info for Harrisburg can be looked at to estimate when it's the best time to plant tritoma.

Planting Calendar for Tritoma

Frost tolerance for tritoma:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since tritoma are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant tritoma in Harrisburg 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 tritoma and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your tritoma may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your tritoma indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Harrisburg is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Harrisburg there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your tritoma in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Harrisburg

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°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 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Harrisburg

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