When to Plant Pumpkins in Highland Park, NJ

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Highland Park should be read to estimate when to plant pumpkins.


Planting Calendar for Pumpkins

Frost tolerance for pumpkins: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Pumpkins do not do well in cold weather which tells us that it's important to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant pumpkins
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant pumpkins
Probably not a good time to plant pumpkins

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Highland Park. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Highland Park is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Highland Park you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your pumpkins if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Highland 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 Low0°F
Highest Expected Low5°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 Highland Park

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