One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Gering it's a good idea to figure out when it's the best time to plant purple coneflower.

Planting Calendar for Purple Coneflower

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

Purple Coneflower do ok in moderate cold which means that you can plant them slightly earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

Last Frost Date

In Gering the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Gering and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Gering you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your purple coneflower in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gering

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Gering

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