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 Metuchen you can determine when to plant gerbera by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Gerbera

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

Gerbera do ok in some cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant gerbera in Metuchen 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 gerbera and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your gerbera may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your gerbera indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Metuchen the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Metuchen is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Metuchen there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your gerbera if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Metuchen

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 Metuchen

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