One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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 Ridgewood you can figure out when it's possible to plant sunflowers by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Sunflowers

Frost tolerance for sunflowers:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Since sunflowers are not cold tolerant you really should wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

In Ridgewood the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Ridgewood is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Ridgewood it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your sunflowers if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ridgewood

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 Ridgewood

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