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.

By using the USDA zone info for Mountainside it's a good idea to determine when to plant polka dot plant.

Planting Calendar for Polka Dot Plant

Frost tolerance for polka dot plant:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Polka Dot Plant are not cold tolerant which tells us that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

In Mountainside the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Mountainside is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Mountainside you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your polka dot plant if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mountainside

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 Mountainside

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