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.

One way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant digitalis is to examine the USDA zone info for Cortland.

Planting Calendar for Digitalis

Frost tolerance for digitalis:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

You can plant digitalis just a bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant digitalis in Cortland is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant digitalis and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your digitalis may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your digitalis indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Cortland. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Cortland may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Cortland last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your digitalis in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Cortland

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Cortland

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