One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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 checking out the USDA zone info for Cliffside Park it's a good idea to determine when it's a good idea to plant cosmos.

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.

Cosmos can survive in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant cosmos in Cliffside Park 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. If you wait any later than that and your cosmos may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your cosmos indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Cliffside Park. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Cliffside Park is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Cliffside Park there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your cosmos in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Cliffside Park

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Cliffside Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Cliffside Park.